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Fente celebrates point at ITA Indoors
Odin Fouchier

Men's Tennis

No. 8 Men’s Tennis Drops ITA Indoor Opener to No. 4 CMS

ST. PETER, MN - The No. 8 Swarthmore College men's tennis team opened its spring campaign with a hard-fought loss to No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 5-2, in the opening round of the ITA Indoor Championships on Friday afternoon. 

The Garnet raced out to an outstanding start, sweeping the opening three matches of doubles to take an early 1-0 lead. However, the Stags made up ground in singles action, winning five of the six matches.

Michael Melnikov was a two-time winner with victories in top doubles and singles. The senior paired with Utham Koduri for a 6-4 doubles triumph, while outdueling the second-ranked singles player in the country in a three-set victory. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
DOUBLES
- Melnikov/ Koduri triumphed in top doubles with a 6-4 victory over the Stags. The No. 3 pairing of Winston Zhang/ Max Lindstrom went on to clinch a point for their squad with a 6-4 decision. 

- Andres Fente/ Kai Chen finished off a doubles sweep for the Garnet, winning 7-6 at the No. 2 position. 


SINGLES
- Melnikov impressed in top singles with a big-time victory over the second-ranked player in the nation. The senior claimed the opening set 6-4, before dropping a second-set thriller, 7-6. Melnikov bounced back in the third set with another 6-4 decision. 

- Lindstrom lost in a three-set showdown to the 19th-ranked player in the nation at No. 2 singles. The senior claimed the opening set 6-3, but fell 7-5 and 6-3 in the closing two sets. 

- Nikola Galov fell in two sets at No. 3 singles. The rookie dropped the opener 6-1, before falling 10-8 in a second-set tiebreaker. Lalith Suresh also dropped a competitive clash at No. 4 action, falling 7-5 in both sets. 

- Rishi Verma won a set at No. 5 singles, but fell in the closing set. The competitors traded a pair of 6-4 sets to open the match, but the Stags triumphed with a 6-1 decision in the final set. 

- Zhang battled in another competitive matchup, closing out singles action with a 6-4, 7-5 loss at No. 6 action. 

UP NEXT
The Garnet (0-1) play in the consolation bracket tomorrow against No. 11 Johns Hopkins University.
 
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Players Mentioned

Kai Chen

Kai Chen

Sophomore
Andres Fente

Andres Fente

Senior
Utham Koduri

Utham Koduri

Senior
Max Lindstrom

Max Lindstrom

Senior
Michael Melnikov

Michael Melnikov

Senior
Lalith Suresh

Lalith Suresh

Senior
Rishi Verma

Rishi Verma

Junior
Winston Zhang

Winston Zhang

Junior
Nikola Galov

Nikola Galov

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kai Chen

Kai Chen

Sophomore
Andres Fente

Andres Fente

Senior
Utham Koduri

Utham Koduri

Senior
Max Lindstrom

Max Lindstrom

Senior
Michael Melnikov

Michael Melnikov

Senior
Lalith Suresh

Lalith Suresh

Senior
Rishi Verma

Rishi Verma

Junior
Winston Zhang

Winston Zhang

Junior
Nikola Galov

Nikola Galov

Freshman