ANNVILLE, Pa. – With the match tied 3-3, freshman Keith Kopelcheck defeated freshman Erik Vargo (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) to give Wilkes University a 4-3 victory over Lebanon Valley in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) men's tennis semifinal Sunday afternoon at the LVC Tennis Courts.
With the win, Wilkes (8-2) will now visit Drew University, a 7-0 winner over Messiah College in the other semifinal on Saturday, in the MAC championship on Monday.
Kopelcheck lost the first set 6-3, but rallied with 6-3, 6-2 wins while handing Vargo (12-1) his first loss of the season.
Wilkes started the match by earning the doubles point after winning all three matches. But the Flying Dutchmen (11-2) came back to take a 3-2 lead after singles wins by senior Andy Platt (York, Pa./York Suburban), freshman Stuart Hartman (Hershey, Pa./Lower Dauphin) and junior Zach Cook (Schaefferstown, Pa./ELCO). Platt won 6-7, 7-6, 6-0 at No. 4 to improve to 12-1 on the season. Hartman scored a 7-5, 7-5 victory at No. 5 while pushing his season record to 11-2, and Cook claimed a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 6. Cook is now 11-1 this year.
The Colonels tied the match at 3-3 when junior Hassan Shah defeated senior Chris Keeney (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley) 7-5, 7-5 at No. 2.
Lebanon Valley plays its final match of the season when it visits Franklin & Marshall College in a non-conference match at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The Dutchmen will also compete in the MAC Individual Championships next Saturday and Sunday at DeSales University and Moravian College.
Doubles
1. Madhan Srinivasan/John Lowe (W) def. Stuart Hartman/Ryan Wendell, 8-5
2. Hassan Shah/Arvin Narula (W) def. Andy Platt/Erik Vargo, 8-2
3. Keith Kopelcheck/Tony McClintock (W) def. Zach Cook/Chris Keeney, 8-3
Singles
1. Srinivasan (W) def. Wendell, 6-0, 6-1
2. Shah (W) def. Keeney, 7-5, 7-5
3. Kopelcheck (W) def. Vargo, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Platt (LV) def. Narula, 6-7, 7-6, 6-0
5. Hartman (LV) def. Lowe, 7-5, 7-5
6. Cook (LV) def. McClintock, 6-3, 6-1
[Photo - Freshman Stuart Hartman, who won 7-5, 7-5 at No. 5 singles in LVC's 4-3 loss to Wilkes in the MAC semifinals on Sunday]
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