ORLANDO, Fla. - The Saint Michael's College men's tennis team fell to regionally-ranked West Chester University of Pennsylvania, 6-3, on Wednesday at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus as the fourth of its six matches during Spring Break in Florida. The Purple Knights are 1-4, while the Golden Rams, who are ninth in today's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region poll, improved to 1-5.
West Chester defaulted at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles to give Saint Michael's an immediate 2-0 lead. Singles play began first, with two Purple and Gold players nearly adding to their team's lead but suffering narrow losses. Senior Forrest Owen (Northboro, Mass./Saint John's) fell by a 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 count at No. 5, while classmate Hayden Steward (Hamilton, Mass./Pingree School) was downed 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 in the third spot.
During doubles action, Saint Michael's split its two completed matches. In the No. 1 position, senior Ben Lambert (Milford, N.H./Milford) and sophomore Dan Foley (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) registered an 8-1 win during their first match ever playing together.
The Purple Knights take on Bethel (Minn.) University tomorrow at 8 a.m. at the Oak Street Park Community Center in Kissimmee, Fla., with the match moving up from its originally-scheduled 11:30 a.m.
