SCRANTON, Pa. - The University of Scranton men's tennis team dropped a heart breaker to visiting Juniata on Sunday at Royal Courts, 6-3, in the Landmark Conference regular season finale for the Royals.
The match also served as the program's Senior Day, as Michael Pottieger (Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing Area) and Matt Prendergast (Flanders, N.J./Mt. Olive) were honored before the match began.
With the defeat, Scranton ends the regular season with an 8-8 overall mark and finish Landmark Conference play at 6-1. Juniata improved to 6-1 and 4-0 in the Landmark with the victory.
In the match, Juniata got off to a fast start, winning all three matches contested in doubles play to take a 3-0 lead into singles.
In singles, Scranton came back, as Prendergast recorded a straight set (6-2, 6-3) victory at number three, and sophomore Alexander Ochalski (Hopewell, N.J./Hopewell Valley Central) came back to win in three sets at number two (4-6, 6-1, 6-2) to cut Juniata's lead down to 3-2.
After Juniata went back up 4-2 with a victory at number one singles, sophomore Brian Harkins (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) kept Scranton alive with a straight set 6-1, 6-2 at number five to make it a 4-3 match.
But, Juniata was able to capture victories at numbers four and six singles to win the match by three.
Scranton will now move onto the Landmark Conference playoffs, which will begin Tuesday, May 2. The Royals will be no worse than a two-seed in the tournament, meaning they will host a match in Scranton on the 2nd.
Details on the 2017 Landmark Conference men's tennis playoffs will be made available late next week.
Juniata Eagles 6, University of Scranton 3
Apr 23, 2017 at Scranton, Pa. (Royal Courts)
Singles competition
1. Dean Polisena (JCMTEN) def. Keller McGurrin (SCRMT17) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Alexander Ochalski (SCRMT17) def. Roy Liberman (JCMTEN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Matt Prendergast (SCRMT17) def. Matyas Kohout (JCMTEN) 6-2, 6-3
4. Daichi McAuliffe-Uch (JCMTEN) def. Charles Swope (SCRMT17) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Brian Harkins (SCRMT17) def. Dan Ansel (JCMTEN) 6-1, 6-2
6. Owen Grafe (JCMTEN) def. Christian Aksu (SCRMT17) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Roy Liberman/Dean Polisena (JCMTEN) def. Alexander Ochalski/Keller McGurrin (SCRMT17) 8-6
2. Matyas Kohout/Owen Grafe (JCMTEN) def. Michael Pottieger/Matt Prendergast (SCRMT17) 8-4
3. Dan Ansel/Jason Gerber (JCMTEN) def. Christian Aksu/Brian Harkins (SCRMT17) 8-5
Match Notes
Juniata Eagles 6-1, 4-0 Landmark
University of Scranton 8-8, 6-1 Landmark
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,1,5,4,6)
--ROYALS--
