SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The No. 8 Swarthmore College men's tennis team was eliminated in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday with a 5-1 loss to No. 6 Tufts University. The Garnet wrap up the team portion of their schedule with a school-record 22 wins, finishing 22-2 overall.
 
The Jumbos took two of the three doubles matches before claiming the first three singles bouts to end Swarthmore's 14-match win streak. Michael Melnikov and Utham Koduri earned the lone win for the Garnet at first doubles in a battle of two of the nation's top-15 doubles teams.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Tufts took the opening decision at second doubles with an 8-5 win over Andres Fente and Rushil Patel. The Jumbos went ahead two with an 8-4 triumph against Max Lindstrom and Winston Zhang at the third spot.
 
- After falling behind 3-0, Melnikov and Koduri rallied to win five of the next six games to take a 5-4 lead. Tufts bounced back to even it up at five but the Swarthmore duo caught fire again, winning three straight to take the match, 8-5.
 
- The Jumbos regained a two-point edge with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at third singles. After a 6-2 loss in his opening set, Melnikov battled in the second but ultimately suffered a 7-5 defeat to the No. 10 player in Division III.
 
- The match of the afternoon was a tight three-setter at second singles. Tufts won the first set, 6-4, but Max Lindstrom fought back for a 6-4 triumph in the second. However, Lindstrom fell behind early in the third and could not recover as he dropped a 6-2 decision to the nation's 22^nd-ranked player to end the match.
 
UP NEXT
Melnikov will play in the singles tournament and will join Koduri in the doubles bracket at the NCAA Individual Championships, beginning on May 26.