ANNVILLE, Pa. - The Messiah men's tennis team improved to 5-2 Wednesday afternoon, claiming a 5-4 win on the road against Lebanon Valley. Andrew Bookman and Galen Fitzkee led the way for the Falcons, claiming victories in both their doubles and singles matches.

The Falcons got off to a great start, going 2-1 in doubles play before heading to singles. The Dutchmen briefly tied the match up at 3-3 with wins on courts five and six before wins by Bookman (6-2, 6-2) on court one and Jarod Snader (6-2, 4-6, 6-0) on court three sealed the win for the Falcons. Lebanon Valley would claim court four to make the final score 5-4. Messiah will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Hood College Blazers at 1:00 p.m. 

Doubles Play
Messiah and Lebanon Valley split courts one and two in doubles play with Bookman and Galen Fitzkee winning on court one 8-4 to make it 1-1. The momentum shifting match came on court three where Connor Rose was making his 2021 season debut alongside freshman Michael Niemi. They played a tight match with Jonathan Yenser and William Harriger, where they were deadlocked at 7-7 before claiming the win in a tiebreaker by a score of 7-2 to send it to singles.

Singles Play
As mentioned, the Dutchmen claimed two of the first three courts in singles play to tie the match at 3-3. This was before Andrew Bookman and Jarod Snader both claimed wins on courts one and three to take the match for the Falcons. Bookman won in straight sets, but Snader had to play a decisive third set in which he dominated 6-0 to win the match. With the 5-4 win, Messiah moves to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will play their final two matches of the season at home, beginning with Hood College Saturday afternoon on Criste Courts at 1:00 p.m.