Results Lexington, VA - Messiah College took two of three doubles matches against Juniata College on Friday, but the Eagles stormed back to defeat the Falcons 5-3 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Falcons started the day in strong fashion, battling through close doubles matches to take wins at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
Michael Brookhart and Commonwealth Rookie of the Year
Tim Dunn teamed up for the 8-5 win at No. 1, with
Michael Kovacs and
Peter Shuck winning by the same score.
No. 3 doubles proved to be a big point, but
Devin Esch and
Connor Graybeal fell by a narrow 8-5 score.
"The doubles were a great start for us," Messiah head coach
Jon Arosell said. "The number three position was a big one, and our guys worked so hard but fell short."
In the singles Juniata caught up and eventually won; the Eagles took four of the five finished matches. Shuck (No. 3) and Esch (No. 4) played particularly close, as both both lost by 6-4 and 6-3 scores.
"Going into the day I knew it would be close," Arosell said. "I thought it would be a 5-4 loss or a 5-4 win, and it was pretty much exactly that.
"This was a great run by our team, it was great experience for our younger guys. I'm really proud of their effort."
The Falcons finished the season at 9-7 and advanced into the First Round by way of their second-straight championship in the Commonwealth Conference.
