SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Taking the court for the first time since October of 2022, the No. 28 Swarthmore College men's tennis team dropped a back-and-forth battle to Division-II Thomas Jefferson University on Sunday by a score of 6-3.

The Garnet opened the morning with a pair of doubles victories, which was headlined by a intense duel between the pairing of Charley Force and Graham Hadesman and Jefferson's top doubles team as they outlasted their opponents in a tiebreaker.

Michael Melnikov then picked up the Garnet's lone singles victory in a stellar performance in No. 2 singles. The Germany native is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation for D-III singles after a historic fall season, which featured the program's first ITA Cup appearance since Greg Emkey's in 1998.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
DOUBLES
- The Garnet took the top-doubles match, 8[7]-7[5], as Force and Hadesman batted to a hard-fought victory over the Rams top pairing.

- First-year Andres Fente and Max Pogorelov opened the morning with a victory at No. 3 doubles. The pairing made quick work of the Rams with an 8-2 decision. 

- Melnikov and Rushil Patel dropped a tight battle in No. 2 doubles, 8-5, in the team's lone doubles defeat. 



SINGLES
- The Garnet were unable to carry their doubles momentum into singles play. Swarthmore's lone win came in the No. 2 singles position, where first-year Melnikov took down his opposition, 6-1, 6-0, in an impressive match. 

- Max Lindstrom was outlasted in a tightly-contested matchup in No. 3 singles, 3-6, 6[6]-3[1]. After dropping the first set, the first-year fought off an early defeat by taking the second set, before falling in the tiebreaker. 

- First-year Lalith Suresh showed fight in No. 5 singles after narrowly dropping the opening set, 6-4. Suresh then bounced back and took the second set in convincing fashion, 6-1, but was unable to win the tiebreaker.

- Aamish Pal also fell in the tiebreaker in No. 6 singles. The first-year captured the opening set, 6-4, before narrowly dropping the second set, 6-4. He then fell in the tiebreaker to drop the match.

UP NEXT
Staying at home, the Garnet will host Muhlenberg College and NYU on Saturday, Feb. 25th. Swarthmore opens their conference slate with Muhlenberg at 10:00 a.m before battling NYU at 2:30 p.m.