The men’s tennis team has had a dream season. The Warhawks have compiled a record of 26-5, and will try to do something that has never been done by the program: advance to the NCAA Division III finals.

This year marks the team’s fifth straight appearance in the regional tournament.

The No. 3 seeded ’Hawks will head to St. Louis to take on No. 6 Westminster College. The Blue Jays come into the Friday matchup at 11-6.

If the ’Hawks advance to the next round they will meet the No. 1 seeded Whitman College (16-6) on Saturday.

Head coach Frank Barnes is confident this year’s squad is up to the task of making a deep post-season run.

“We don’t know much about the teams in our bracket,” Barnes said. “But I feel the best I’ve ever felt about a team, and I like our chances better than the previous four years.”

“In the past we were long shots for upsets, but this year I feel we have a complete team from top to bottom.”

UW-Whitewater was one of several schools being considered as a host for the early rounds of the tournament, but aren’t disappointed they were not chosen.

“The advantage we have over a lot of teams is that we’ve been playing on the road all year,” Barnes said. “So having to travel changes nothing really.”

The ’Hawks have only played 10 of their 31 matches at home this season.

Junior Erik Scanlan makes his third trip to the NCAA tournament and said he is optimistic about the team’s chances.

“The focus in practice has really picked up, and we just need to approach every game the way we did during the regular season,” Scanlan said.

“This is my third tournament team and I think that if we all play the way we’re capable of playing, there’s no doubt we can make it to the final eight. There’s no one on the team that doesn’t think we can do this.”