COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's tennis team's best start in school history came to an end with a 9-0 loss to nationally ranked Swarthmore in Wednesday's Centennial Conference opener.

Swarthmore (4-5, 1-0), which came in ranked No. 31 in Division III and No. 7 in the Atlantic South Region by the ITA, handed the Bears (7-1, 0-1) their first loss of the season.

Sophomore Max Oberholtzer and freshman Paul Vecchio put up a fight at number one doubles, but the Garnet's top tandem of Mark Fallati and Josh Powell secured an 8-4 decision to clinch a sweep of doubles play.

Oberholtzer dropped a 6-2, 6-3 decision to the regionally ranked Fallati at first singles, and was the only Bear to win more than four singles games; he and Vecchio, who fell by a 6-1, 6-3 count at number five, suffered their first dual-match setbacks of the year.

The Bears get another tough test next Monday, March 28, when they welcomes Wilkes to the Bailey Courts for a non-conference tilt. The Colonels are 11-1 – their only loss came to Haverford last Saturday – and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Coach's Corner

"I am actually encouraged by what I saw today, something you will not normally hear from a coach after losing 9-0," said head coach Pete Smith. "There is a reason why Swarthmore is nationally ranked, and they were the better team today, but I saw our guys hustling, scrapping, and generally competing in a way that is going to benefit us moving forward. Tomorrow we get back to work and try to get better. It is a long season, and I still strongly believe that this group can accomplish a lot in the next five weeks."