CLAREMONT, Calif. – Despite a valiant effort, the No. 8 Swarthmore College men's tennis team was unable to knock off the top-ranked team in Division III on Saturday, falling at No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges by a 4-3 score. The Garnet finished with a 2-1 record against three nationally-ranked squads on their Spring Break trip to the Golden State.
 
Swarthmore got off to a perfect start, sweeping the three doubles matches for an early 1-0 lead. However, the Stags bounced back with wins in four of the six singles bouts to avoid the upset.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Andres Fente and Kai Chen rolled to a 6-2 victory at second doubles to begin the match. The duo topped the nation's ninth-ranked doubles team. Michael Melnikov and Utham Koduri clinched a point for the Garnet with a 6-4 triumph at the top spot, defeating the 23^rd-ranked doubles pair. Max Lindstrom and Winston Zhang battled against Division III's No. 10 duo and came out on top in a tiebreak, 7-6 (9-7).
 
- Melnikov took on the top-ranked singles player in the country at the first position. The junior was unable to come away with the win, succumbing 1-6, 4-6. CMS also earned the victory at second singles, with the 14^th-ranked player downing Max Lindstrom 7-5, 6-4.
 
- Lalith Suresh grabbed a point for Swarthmore with a 6-3, 7-5 success at fourth singles. However, the Stags secured the match with wins at the third and sixth flights. Rishi Verma suffered a 4-6, 3-6 loss at third singles and Aadhi Raja dropped a 4-6, 3-6 decision at sixth singles to the nation's 20^th-ranked player.
 
- Aamish Pal ended the match on a high note for the Garnet, gutting out a 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 1-0 (11-9) triumph at the fifth spot.
 
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (4-4) begins Centennial Conference play with two matches on March 22 as the Garnet host Muhlenberg College while another contingent heads to Gettysburg College.