OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The Messiah men's tennis fell to the top-seeded Stevenson University Mustangs 5-3 Saturday afternoon in a closely contested match in Owings Mills, Md. Stevenson took a 2-1 lead into singles play after Ray McDermott and Larry Johnson III handed Andrew Bookman and Galen Fitzkee just their second doubles loss of the season on court one.

The Falcons Connor Rose and Galen Fitzkee claimed courts four and two respectively in singles play, but it wasn't enough as the Mustangs won the match 5-3. The loss ends Messiah's season with a 7-4 overall record.

Doubles Play
The Falcons and Mustangs split courts two and three in doubles. After winning a thriller on court two Wednesday against Lebanon Valley, Jarod Snader and Jonathan Baker claimed another win at Stevenson 8-4.

Court one was the last to finish as Andrew Bookman and Galen Fitzkee were in a tight match against Ray McDermott and Larry Johnson III. The two teams battled to a 7-7 tie before the tiebreaker was all Stevenson, with them taking the match 8-7(2). As mentioned, this was only Bookman and Fitzkee's second loss all season in doubles play. This gave the Mustangs a 2-1 lead heading into singles.

Singles Play
Stevenson increased their lead to 3-1 after taking court five. Connor Rose made the score 3-2 after a win on court four. Rose and Richie Abruscato played a back and forth match with Rose winning set one 7-6(2) before Abruscato took set two 6-0. Rose was able to take the decisive third set 6-2 to give the Falcons a big win.

The Mustangs were able to get the win back in a crucial match on court three. After Larry Johnson III won set one 6-3, he and Snader then went back and forth in set two. It went to a tiebreaker in which Johnson won 7-5 to give him the set win 7-6(5) and handed Snader his first singles loss of the season. This increased Stevenson's lead to 4-2 in the match with three courts to play.

Galen Fitzkee then won his ninth singles match of the season (6-2, 6-3) on court two over Ben Porto to cut the Mustangs lead back down to one at 4-3 with only two courts left and the Falcons having to win both.

After a back and forth second set on court one, the Mustangs Ray McDermott wrapped up the win over Andrew Bookman in a tiebreaker (6-3, 7-6(3)) to seal the 5-3 victory for Stevenson. This gives the Mustangs their second-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship.

What's Up Next
As mentioned, the loss ends the season for the Falcons with a 7-4 record. They will return to the courts for the 2021-22 campaign.