READING, PA. – The Messiah men's tennis team closed out their regular season with a 6-3 win over the Albright Lions this afternoon. With a 5-2 conference record, Messiah has earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Playoffs and will face the No. 2 Stevenson Mustangs on Tuesday, April 25. That match will be held in Owings Mills at a time to be determined.
On the Courts
The Falcons had an early split on courts two and three with Baker/Gingerich falling 1-8 on court two. Reversely on court three, Niemi/Anderson made quick work winning 8-1 to even up the score at 1-1. On court one doubles, the team of Wilson/Rose had to battle but earned a close 8-6 win for the overall 2-1 edge heading into singles.
Singles
Carl Anderson was the first to finish on court four, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win before
Chase Wilson was not far behind with a 6-0, 6-1 win of his own on court one.
On court three,
Jonathan Baker rallied after dropping the first set 5-7 to claim the second 6-4 to force what would be a third set super tiebreak in lieu of a full third set due to the heat. Baker prevailed and won 10-7 for the Falcons fifth point of the afternoon, winning 5-7, 6-4, (10-7).
Connor Rose was the Falcons sixth point of the day, winning 6-3, 7-5 on court two. That wasn't without drama though, as a critical deuce point went the way of Albright to give Albright a 5-4 lead in the second set. Rose responded positively, winning the last three games in emphatic fashion to take that second set 7-5 and the match 6-3, 7-5.
On courts five and six, the Lions prevailed for their second and third points of the day.
Peyton Sopirak fell 1-6, 0-6 on court five while
Gregory Valdez lost 2-6, 4-6 on court six.
The MAC Semifinals Await
The Falcons cap off the regular season one game above .500 at 8-7 and finish their conference slate with a 5-2 mark. A semifinal date with the No. 2 seeded Stevenson Mustangs greet the Falcons early next week on Tuesday, April 25. That match will be held in Owings Mills, Md. at a time to be determined in the future.
The last meeting in Owings Mills was earlier this season, when the Mustangs outlasted the Falcons and took them down 7-2. Messiah is looking for different results next week.
