COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – It was a tale of two halves as the Ursinus College men's tennis team wound up on the short end of a critical Centennial Conference clash with Washington College on Wednesday.

The Bears swept doubles convincingly but the Shoremen returned the favor on the singles courts for a 6-3 triumph, grabbing the spoils of a de facto playoff match that in all likelihood would send the winner to the postseason.

Senior Max Oberholtzer and junior Paul Vecchio cruised to an 8-1 rout of Chris Salisbury and Jake Sandler at number one doubles, staking Ursinus (10-6, 4-4) to an early upper hand.

Sophomore Connor DeFaber-Schumacher and freshman Matt Fontanese doubled the lead with an 8-5 win over Koby Bonta and Andrew Smith at number three, and freshman Mason Groff and senior Peter Shields followed shortly thereafter with the same score against Luke Weaver and Justin Panepinto at number two.

With their victory, Groff and Shields extended their unbeaten dual-match record to 10-0.

Armed with a sweep and plenty of momentum, the Bears were unable to make it stand up when the match turned to individual play. Washington College (6-6, 4-2) won the first five singles courts in straight sets, clinching the match with August Meriot's 7-5, 6-1 triumph over DeFaber-Schumacher at number five.

Oberholtzer and Salisbury went toe to toe in a three-set thriller on the top court, with the Shoreman rallying for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 result.

The Bears' season concludes with three road matches, starting with a date with No. 23 Johns Hopkins Saturday in Baltimore.