Winona Lake, Ind. - The Marian men's tennis put up a tough battle Monday afternoon in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship match, but came up short of a win as the Knights fell to No. 17 Grace 4-1. Marian's defeat in the CL Championship ends their fall season, as they finish the fall with an 8-3 record.
In doubles, the Knights and Lancers jousted for the opening point of the day, as all three matches were needed to determine a score. Marian won their first match in doubles with
Marc Soriano and
Shadi Al Tori landing a 6-2 win against Artur Pons and Francisco Margaria on the No. 3 court. At No. 2 doubles, the pair of
James Ashworth and
Jones McNamar battled agianst Pablo Gregori and Salva Pons, but came up short falling 6-4. With the point falling on No. 1 doubles,
Andrew Ilett and
Borja Delgado forced a tiebreaker against Javier Gallego and Facundo Paredes, however the pair was unable to seal the win as they fell 7-6 (7-4).
Trailing 1-0 going into singles, Marian was able to get their first point of the day at No. 5 singles, as
Jona Henze scored a 6-2, 6-2 win over Artur Pons. Henze's victory would be Marian's lone victory of the singles portion in the match, as Grace rolled to three consecutive wins to seal their championship.
Delgado fell at No. 1 singles in three sets losing 6-0, 0-6, 3-6 to Javier Gallego, and at No. 3 singles
Luis Sobanski lost to Pablo Gregori 6-2, 6-1.
Marc Soriano suffered the final defeat in the match as Grace claimed the championship, losing to Francisco Margaria 6-4, 6-3.
James Ashworth went unfinished against Facundo Paredes at No. 2 singles trailing 3-2 in the third set (2-6, 6-4), and
Jan Bartolome trailed Salva Pons 7-6 (7-5), 3-3 as his match went unfinished.
Marian's defeat ends their fall season, as they will now wait until late January or early February to resume their schedule. Marian's spring schedule will be announced at a later date.
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