By Mitch Blankespoor
SWARTHMORE, Pa. – After falling behind 2-1 after doubles, the Kalamazoo College men's tennis team came from behind to defeat Franklin and Marshall (Pa.) 5-4 Sunday, Mar. 24.
"What a great team win," Kalamazoo Head Coach Mark Riley said. "This was one of the most satisfying wins of my career. Our guys were just plain clutch."
Kalamazoo took the first point of the match when the third doubles team of senior Mike Korn and junior David DeSimone defeated Joshua Bailey and Kazuhiro Tomioka 8-5. The Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall won first doubles 8-5 and squeaked out a win at second doubles when Kalamazoo senior Peter Rothstein and sophomore Robert Hudson lost to William MacArthur and Nolan Baccieri 9-8(4).
Trailing 2-1, Kalamazoo freshman Branden Metzler defeated MacArthur 6-4, 6-4 at first singles to tie the match once again. Franklin and Marshall regained the edge when Rothstein fell to Doug Kaplan 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 at second singles.
The Diplomats would win the next match off the court as well. Joshua Kane defeated Hudson in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 to give Franklin and Marshall a 4-2 match lead.
Korn, who fell 6-3 in the first set, rebounded to win set two over Nolan Bacchieri 6-3 to force a third set. The two battled until the set was tied 6-6. Korn bested Bacchieri 7-2 in the tiebreak to win the fight for Kalamazoo.
DeSimone followed up Korn's win with a victory of his own at fifth singles. The Bettendorf (Iowa) native defeated Benjamin Stern 6-4, 6-4 to tie the match 4-4.
Kalamazoo freshman Spencer Navarre fell behind in sets one and two, but battled back to win both sets and the match 7-5, 6-4. The Hornets had completed the comeback.
"Great come from behind wins from Mike [Korn] and Spencer [Navarre] tonight," Riley said. "Spencer was down 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second and came back to win both."
Kalamazoo improves to 5-4 on the season and will return to action Mar. 25 for a 4:00 p.m. match at Haverford.