Box Score (PDF)

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Ithaca College men's tennis team continued its busy week in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon when the Bombers were back on the courts at the Fort Gatlin Tennis Center for the third-of-five matches this week against Franklin & Marshall. Unfortunately, the Bombers came up just short in a highly competitive match against the Diplomats, falling in a heartbreaker by a 5-4 margin. The loss drops Ithaca's record to 1-4 on the year.
 
Franklin & Marshall 5 – Ithaca 4
Doubles
1. Minos Stavrakas/Colten Lavery (ITHACA) def. Sam Bellersen/Adith Chandavarkar (F&M) | 8-2
2. Zack Levin/Isaac Salas (F&M) def. Sam McGrath/Max Prestwich (ITHACA) | 8-3
3. Andrew Pace/Tristan Steffe (F&M) def. Liam Spiegel/Sam Fried (ITHACA) | 8-2
 
Singles
1. Minos Stavrakas (ITHACA) def. Isaac Salas (F&M) | 4-6, 7-5, 10-3
2. Sam McGrath (ITHACA) def. Sam Bellersen (F&M) | 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
3. Colten Lavery (ITHACA) def. Zack Levin (F&M) | 6-2, 3-6, 10-7
4. Adith Chandavarkar (F&M) def. Sam Fried (ITHACA) | 6-2, 7-5
5. Andrew Pace (F&M) def. Liam Spiegel (ITHACA) | 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Adrian Charchalis (F&M) def. Max Prestwich (ITHACA) | 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 10-5
 
The Bombers got off to a quick start to the doubles session, as the junior tandem of Minos Stavrakas and Colten Lavery earned an 8-2 victory over Sam Bellersen and Adith Chandavarkar at first-doubles. Unfortunately the lead was not sustained, as the Diplomats battled back to take a 2-1 lead into the singles sessions with wins at second-doubles and third-doubles. Neither matchup was quite close, as the second grouping of senior Sam McGrath and junior Max Prestwich fell 8-3, while junior Liam Spiegel and sophomore Sam Fried fell in an 8-2 decision.
 
The singles session also got off to a strong start for IC. The Bombers swept all three of top slots to again pull ahead in the match. Stavrakas won a three-setter against Isaac Salas, racing back from a one-set deficit to win the second and take the third in a super-breaker by a 10-3 margin. It took a tiebreaker for McGrath to snag the opening set against Sam Bellersen, but he raced past the Diplomat for a 6-1 win in set two to win his second-singles matchup. Lavery also went three sets, scoring a 6-2 win in the first set and taking the third-set super-breaker 10-7.
 
Unfortunately, the Bombers were not able to pull out any of the fourth-through-sixth matches on the day. All three were close battles, but Fried, Spiegel and Prestwich each suffered narrow defeats.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Thursday, March 14, when it faces Bloomsburg University at the USTA National Campus.