CARLISLE, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's men's tennis team closed its 2021 season on a six-match winning streak following its 9-0 victory over Gettysburg. The Diplomats swept both McDaniel and Gettysburg during the regular season while each of their four other victories came by convincing 8-1 finals. With Saturday's result, the Diplomats finish in second place in the final Centennial Conference standings.
By the Numbers
F&M got its momentum rolling early with a dominant performance in doubles. Justin Pace and Tristan Steffe did not allow a single in the middle doubles match. The Isaac Rockower/Adith Chandavarkar pairing allowed just one game at No. 3 doubles, while the No. 1 duo of Sam Bellersen and Adrian Charchalis won by an 8-2 final.
Pace (No. 3 singles) and Chandavarkar (No. 4) both blanked their opponents in singles while Charchalis (No. 2) and Steffe (No. 5) rolled to straight set victories. The Diplomats did find themselves locked in a pair of tight matches that went to 10-point tiebreaks to solidify the sweep. Bellersen, the reigning CC Player of the Week, cruised 6-0 in his first set and won the tiebreak by a 10-3 final. The closest match of the afternoon was at No. 6 singles where Jack Brinkley pulled out a 10-7 tiebreak victory.
The Results
Singles competition
1: Sam Bellersen (F&M) def. Alex Kagan (GC) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3)
2: Adrian Charchalis (F&M) def. Michael Zayneh (GC) 6-2, 6-0
3: Justin Pace (F&M) def. Patrick Bodovitz (GC) 6-0, 6-0
4: Adith Chandavarkar (F&M) def. Alec Shalk (GC) 6-0, 6-0
5: Tristan Steffe (F&M) def. Matt Rau (GC) 6-1, 6-2
6: Jack Brinkley (F&M) def. Max Levy (GC) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles competition
1: Sam Bellersen/Adrian Charchalis (F&M) def. Alex Kagan/Michael Zayneh (GC) 8-2
2: Justin Pace/Tristan Steffe (F&M) def. Matt Rau/Patrick Bodovitz (GC) 8-0
3: Isaac Rockower/Adith Chandavarkar (F&M) def. Max Levy/Alec Shalk (GC) 8-1
Up Next
Today's match wrapped up the 2021 season for the Diplomats. Seniors Sam Bellersen, Jack Brinkley, and Adith Chandavarkar all won in their final matches while the team will also have to deal with the graduation loss of senior Ryan Rosenberg who won in both singles and doubles against McDaniel during his only appearance in the varsity lineup this spring.
