GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's tennis team defeated the York College Spartans 9-0 on a cool Saturday afternoon in Grantham. It was a team effort for the Falcons as they took care of business against the Spartans, but it didn't come easily. Andrew Bookman and Galen Fitzkee had to fight hard to win 8-5 at No. 1 doubles over a tough York team of Taj Laliwala and Jack Leinbach. Bookman and Laliwala proceeded to have a great match in court one singles in which Bookman came away with a hard fought 1-6, 6-2, (10-5) victory in which they played a game to 10 in lieu of a third set due the Falcons already claiming the match.

Galen Fitzkee stays undefeated on the season after a pair of wins Saturday afternoon, he moves to 3-0 in both singles and doubles play. They will be back in action when they host Alvernia University on Tuesday, Apr. 13 at 3:30 p.m. on Criste Courts. 
 
Doubles Play
The Falcons got off to a hot start in doubles when Jarod Snader and Jonathan Baker dominated the second court 8-1 to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
AJ Swanson and Michael Niemi made it 2-0 with an 8-4 win on court three before Andrew Bookman and Galen Fitzkee won a closely contested 8-6 match on court one to go up 3-0 heading into singles.
 
Singles Play
Fitzkee and Snader claimed the match for the Falcons with wins on courts two and three to make it 5-0. Fitzkee didn't lose a game while Snader only lost one in his match. As mentioned earlier, Bookman was able to win a closely contested match on the No. 1 court to make it 6-0.
 
Jonathan Baker, AJ Swanson, and Michael Niemi made it a clean sweep for Messiah, as they only surrendered eight combined games in the 9-0 win for the Falcons.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, Messiah moves to 3-1 on the season with a pair of victories over the Spartans. They will be back on Criste Courts Tuesday afternoon when they host the Alvernia Golden Wolves for a match beginning at 3:30 p.m.