GRANTHAM, PA - The Messiah men's tennis team won two of three doubles courts to open up the match 2-1, but could only tack on two additional wins at courts five and six in singles play. After a half an hour rain delay, the No. 1 singles match of Ben Porto and Chase Wilson resumed midway through the third set with Wilson ahead 4-3. Porto won three straight games to clinch not only court one, but the overall match for Stevenson, winning by an overall score of 5-4.

Doubles
The Falcons got off to an excellent start, taking two doubles courts to start the afternoon. Baker/Gingerich came out firing winning 8-2 on court two while E. Martin/Niemi won 8-6 on court three. Wilson/Rose fell 4-8 on court one doubles but the Falcons still took that 2-1 lead into singles play. 

Singles
The Mustangs started out with a win on court three taking down Michael Sell 0-6, 3-6 to even the overall match score at 2-2. Connor Rose dropped his match on court two to Larry Johnson III 2-6, 3-6 before courts five and six went in favor of Messiah. On court five, Jonathan Baker won in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(3) to give the Falcons three points on the day. Ellis Martin gave Messiah their fourth point with a three set win on court six, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

The Falcons led 4-3 in the match at this point with courts four and one playing in deciding third sets. Court four was the next to finish, with Josh Gingerich losing 6-4, 4-6, 1-6 evening up the overall match at 4-4.

It all came down to court one.

After splitting sets, Chase Wilson held a 4-3 advantage when a slight rain shower hit Criste Courts, halting action. After a 30 minute delay, Chase Wilson and Stevenson's Ben Porto resumed their match in the third set with Wilson ahead 4-3 at 7:30 PM, with limited daylight remaining. Porto would prevail, holding his serve twice and breaking Wilson's once, winning the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The win also completed the epic comeback overall match 5-4 win for the Mustangs. 

Next
The loss drops the Falcons record to 6-9 and their conference record to 3-1, marking the first conference setback of the season. The Falcons will take the weekend off and travel to Frederick, Md. to take on Hood College on Tuesday April 19, at 2:00 PM.