The MIAA champion Hope College doubles team of Kevney Dugan and Dan Mann has received an invitation to compete in the NCAA Division III tennis championships to be held May 17-19 at Gustavus-Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.
They are among 16 doubles teams invited to compete in the national meet which will also include 32 singles players.
Coach Steve Gorno's Flying Dutchmen were co-champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) this spring, posting a 15-4 dual match record, including a perfect 5-0 league mark after becoming the first league team to defeat conference rival Kalamazoo since 1962.
It is the first time since 1990 and the fourth time in school history that a Hope doubles team has received a bid to nationals. They are the only players from the MIAA to be invited to nationals.
Both are two-sport athletes. Mann lettered four years at linebacker in football while Dugan started at midfield on Hope's MIAA champion soccer team last fall and will be one of that team's tri-captains in 2003.
Mann, a senior from Spring Lake (Grand Haven HS), and Dugan, a junior from Holland (Holland Christian HS), posted a 15-3 record this spring en route to winning the MIAA first flight championship.
Mann, chosen the most valuable player in the MIAA this spring and a four-time all-conference honoree, is the winningest player in Hope men's tennis history. His four-year mark is 126-50, including 59-28 in singles play and 67-22 in doubles. He was captain of the tennis team as both a junior and senior.
Dugan, a two-time all-MIAA honoree, was also the league runner-up at second flight singles for the second consecutive year. He and Mann have combined for a 33-9 doubles record the past two seasons.