SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's tennis team lost 9-0 in a Centennial Conference match at Swarthmore on Tuesday, during which junior Max Oberholtzer nearly pulled off a signature victory.
Ursinus fell to 7-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Swarthmore, ranked fourth in the ITA Atlantic South Region, improved to 3-9 overall in its league opener.
The best match of the evening came on the top singles court, where Oberholtzer went toe to toe with Swarthmore's Mark Fallati, the reigning CC Player of the Year. After a 6-2 defeat in the first set, Oberholtzer rallied to take the second, 6-4, and force a third-set tiebreaker. Fallati, ranked 29th in Division III and seventh in the Atlantic South, pulled out a 10-6 triumph to deny Oberholtzer – and Ursinus – a monumental result.
Since 2008, the Bears have won only two individual matches against the Garnet, both in a 7-2 final three years ago. Fallati handled Oberholtzer 6-2, 6-3 last season but got all he could handle this time around.
Senior Chanton Phan and junior Peter Shields put up the toughest fight in doubles play, taking Thomas Vernier and Ari Cepelewicz down to the wire before surrendering an 8-6 decision on the number two court.
Oberholtzer and sophomore Paul Vecchio dropped an 8-4 pro set to Mark Fallati and Simon Vernier in the first flight, while senior Henry Burke and freshman Connor deFaber-Schumacher fell 8-2 to John Larkin and Blake Oetting at number three.
Burke lost 6-2, 6-4 to Cepelewicz at fourth singles and Phan fell 6-3, 6-2 against Simon Vernier at number three.
The Bears welcome Gettysburg to Collegeville for a conference match on Saturday, April 1.