COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Kyle Bookman won his first career Centennial Conference singles match in thrilling fashion as the sophomore edged out a tightly contested third-set tiebreaker to help the Ursinus College men's tennis team avoid a sweep against visiting Franklin & Marshall.
Bookman rallied back from dropping the first set against his opponent at number five singles, taking the second set by a count of 6-3 and hanging on for an 11-9 triumph in the super breaker. The sophomore let one match point get away at 9-8 but recovered to claim the next two and grab his inaugural conference triumph.
Franklin & Marshall, ranked 20th in the Atlantic South region, dominated doubles play and dropped only five games across the three matches.
But the Diplomats (4-4, 2-0) did not have things all their own way in singles, where two of the five contested courts went to a third set. In addition to Bookman, junior Connor DeFaber-Schumacher also pushed his opponent the distance but came up just short in a 1-6, 6-2, 10-2 decision against Zack Levin at number two.
The Bears will look to pick up their first CC win of the season when they travel to McDaniel on Saturday.