MOUNT VERNON – Fifth-year coach Trent Schneider's Rams have earned the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Conference Men's Tennis Team Automatic Qualifying Tournament, kicking off a three-day Championships weekend at Nielsen Tennis Stadium, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 
 
Cornell (4-2 MWC) faces No. 2 seed, and 45th ranked Lake Forest (5-1 MWC) in a semifinal dual at 10 a.m. Friday. #19 ranked top-seeded and 22-time defending champion Grinnell (6-0 MWC) plays Illinois College (3-3 MWC) in Friday's other semifinal.
 
The semifinal winners meet in the championship Friday afternoon for the MWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
The Rams qualified for the MWC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season it has been contested. This is Cornell's fourth straight appearance as the No. 3 seed. 
 
Cornell (14-11 overall) closed out the regular season dropping two 7-0 decisions to Grinnell and Lake Forest last weekend. 
 
The MWC Individual Championships get underway at 9 a.m. Saturday with two rounds of singles and one round of doubles. The Championships resume at 9 a.m. Sunday.
 
Cornell's individuals are seeded No. 3 in four of the nine contested flights. All other entries are seeded No. 4 for the Rams. The Rams' are led by No. 1 doubles pair of Trent Devore and Jack Saunders, where the duo posted a 4-2 record in MWC play as well as a 9-4 overall mark together. Devore is in the top singles bracket, while Saunders is in the No. 2 singles bracket. 

Cornell rounds out its singles entries with Zachary Ong at No. 3, Drew Campbell at No. 4, Henry Lambley at No. 5, and Mills Arnold at No. 6. Saunders and Lambley are seeded No. 3 in their respective brackets.   

Arnold and Sam Cumicek at paired at No. 3, while Lambley/Ong team up at No. 3.