MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois Men's Tennis team will travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., to take part in the 2011 Summit League Men's Tennis Championships this weekend.

The Fighting Leathernecks (8-14, 4-2) enter the competition as the No. 2 seed and will face No. 3 seed IUPUI at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 22. The winner will take on either No. 1 UMKC or No. 4 Oral Roberts at 10 a.m. on Saturday for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Jeff Cote, Patrick Hammers and Mandela Shepard each lead the Leathernecks with nine wins in singles play. Cote has competed at the No. 1 spot all season while Hammers has played at No. 2 and No. 3. Shepard has split time between the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 positions this season.

Hammers earned Summit League 'Player of the Week' honors earlier this year while Cote was named as the league's 'Newcomer of the Year' following the 2010 season.

The NCAA Championships will take place on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., May 19-30.