COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's tennis team gave its Centennial Conference playoff hopes a major jolt with a 9-0 Centennial Conference sweep of Dickinson on Saturday.
Max Oberholtzer and Peter Shields were both double winners on Senior Day for the Bears (9-4, 3-2), who moved into a tie with Washington College (2-1 CC) for the fifth and final postseason spot. That berth will likely come down to the teams' showdown on April 18.
Ursinus was thoroughly impressive against a Dickinson squad it defeated 5-4 a year ago. It all started on the doubles courts, where sophomore Connor DeFaber-Schumacher and freshman Matt Fontanese got the Bears rolling with an 8-2 rout of Nick Reese and Vincent Tover Dias at number three.
Oberholtzer and Vecchio came up with an 8-4 victory over Shawn Diniz and Samuel Loring at number one, setting up a thriller on the second court. Shields teamed with freshman Mason Groff to edge Derek Chen and Bryce Perritt, 9-7, and complete a rousing sweep.
The Bears cruised on the first four singles courts. Oberholtzer rolled up a 6-1, 6-1 victory opposite Diniz at number one, and Shields matched his score line against Perritt at number four. That victory was the 67th of Shields' career, moving him into fifth on the all-time charts.
Groff cruised past Chen by a 6-1, 6-3 final at second singles, and Vecchio routed Loring 6-2, 6-1 at number three.
DeFaber-Schumacher pulled out a 9-7 nail-biter over Reese at fifth singles and Fontanese capped the Bears' perfect day with an 8-5 win against Tover Dias.
The men's tennis team hosts Haverford in CC action on Tuesday.