COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's tennis team acquitted itself well in Saturday's season finale against powerhouse Johns Hopkins, staying competitive on every court in a 7-2 Centennial Conference defeat inside the Floy Lewis Bakes Center fieldhouse.
Ursinus completed its campaign at 12-7 overall and 4-5 in CC play. Johns Hopkins – ranked No. 21 in Division III and No. 5 in the Atlantic South – improved to 11-2 overall and 6-0 in league matches.
Senior Chanton Phan picked up an impressive win in his final doubles match, teaming with junior Peter Shields for an 8-5 triumph against Austin Gu and Vik Vasan at number two. Senior Henry Burke and freshman Connor DeFaber-Schumacher challenged Aaron Carey and Elliot Seckler to an 8-5 final on the third court.
Junior Max Oberholtzer was the Bears' lone winner in singles play, rolling past Carey by a 6-4, 6-1 count in the top flight.
Phan nearly took down Vasan, but came up just a few points shy in a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) thriller at third singles. Shields dropped a 6-2, 7-6 (1) decision to Colin Muraika, while senior Jordan Hodess stayed close throughout a 6-3, 6-4 loss at the hands of Seckler at number six. Burke fell by the same tally to Nakul Narendran at number four in his last collegiate match.
Burke finished his Ursinus career fifth in doubles wins (32) and 13th in overall wins (51). In just two seasons with the team, Phan amassed 23 singles victories and 19 on the doubles court. Hodess, meanwhile, collected a career-high nine singles wins in his final season.
