GRANTHAM, Pa.  – Senior Erik Vargo won again at No. 1 singles, but fourth-seeded Lebanon Valley fell to top-seeded Messiah College by a 6-1 count in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Conference men’s tennis championship tournament Wednesday afternoon.

Messiah (15-1) moves on to the conference championship match, where it will face third-seeded Albright College, a 4-3 winner over Juniata College in other semifinal on Wednesday.

After being named Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year earlier in the day, Vargo earned his 14th straight singles win, beating Jonathan Stanley 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 to push his record to 15-3. However, that turned out to be the Valley’s lone singles or doubles win of the afternoon.

Lebanon Valley (8-9) plays its final dual match of the season on Tuesday, when it visits King’s College for a non-conference match starting at 4 p.m.

Singles
1. Erik Vargo (LV) def. Jonathan Stanley, 6-3, 2-6, 10-6
2. Nathan Ipsen (M) def. Stu Hartman, 6-3, 6-0
3. Matthew Bucher (M) def. Zach Kaufman, 6-1, 6-1
4. Jonathan Siemen (M) def. Shawn Becker, 6-2, 6-3
5. Samuel Shorts (M) def. J.P. Henry, 6-2, 6-4
6. William Tanis (M) def. Jared Zeigler, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
1. Stanley/Ipsen (M) def. Hartman/Zeigler, 8-6
2. Siemen/Tanis (M) def. Vargo/Becker, 8-6
3. Bucher/Shorts (M) def. Henry/Kaufman, 8-0

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