GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah College men's tennis team hosted the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen in their final regular season match on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons fought hard yet they couldn't hold on, dropping the tight match 5-4. Messiah was trailing Lebanon Valley 2-1 after doubles play, however they battled back winning three out of six singles matches. However, it wouldn't be enough and the Dutchmen outlasted the Falcons 5-4. Messiah finished with a conference record of 4-2 and will head into the MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the third-seed.

How It Happened
No.1 Galen Fitzkee and Andrew Bookman collected the Falcons only win in doubles action. This duo fought hard and claimed a 8-6 win over Lebanon Valley's Reed Morris and Elliott Kleckner. Messiah headed into the singles matches down 2-1, but Galen Fitzkee (6-4, 6-2) and Andrew Bookman (7-6 (7-4), 6-0) once again came out victorious. Alex Mantsevich secured Messiah's third singles win in a nailbiter. Mantsevich came out strong, winning the first set 6-2, however his opponent gained momentum and took the second set 6-2. The third set was a battle and Matsevich came out on top with a 7-6 (8-6) win. Jarod Snader also had a close match in the No. 5 singles match but fell to Lebanon Valley's Luke Senft in the third set 7-5.

Up Next
Messiah will be back in action on Tuesday, April 30th when they travel to Lebanon Valley to compete in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal. The Dutchmen claimed the second-seed after they finished with a 5-1 record in the conference. Check GoMessiah.com early next week for a full preview of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament.