BALTIMORE, Md. - Over the weekend, the Morgan State men's tennis team faced off against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Belmont University and Georgetown at the VCU 4-1 Invitational.
 
The Bears (1-3) ended up falling to VCU, 5-0, and Belmont 3-2 on Saturday and dropped to VCU, 4-1, before pulling off a 3-2 upset victory against Georgetown on Sunday.
 
Morgan State rallied from a 2-0 deficit to Georgetown to pull off the school's first-ever victory against the Hoyas.  A Georgetown victory looked promising as Bart Panarese paced into a 4-0 lead over MSU's Lucas Kursinski. However, after a back-and-forth battle Kursinki rattled off six straight points for the win. The Bears ultimately took the match, 3-2.
 
Felix Andre defeated Georgetown's Jack Murphy, 7-5, 7-6(2), while Kursinski defeated Bart Panrese 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to claim Morgan State's second singles match win against the Hoyas.
 
Also making some strides for the Bears on the court were Jeremy Field Arjun Ramakrishnan, who claimed the doubles point against Georgetown's Dan Khanin and Yannik Mahlangu, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the courage they showed to be great today when their team needed them the most," said MSU coach Matt Townes.  "It was a spectacular effort."
 
"We also lost to VCU twice this weekend, which also means we had two opportunities to see what Top 30 tennis in the nation is like, and we competed very well," added Townes.  
 
"We have learned a lot this weekend and I know it will come into play at the end of April."

The Bears will return to the courts on Sunday, Jan. 31 when they travel to face Drexel University. 
 
Saturday, January 16
 
VCU 5, Morgan State 0
Singles?
1- Michal Voscek (VCU) def. Evan Ward, 6-1, 6-2
2- Vitor Lima (VCU) def. Jeremy Field, 6-3, 4-6, 10-4
3- Catalin Fifea (VCU) def. Arjun Ramakrishnan, 6-2, 6-2
4- Daryl Monfils (VCU) def. Lucas Krusinski, 6-2, 6-0

Doubles?
1- Philip Mobius/Arvid Noren (VCU) def. Sagar Sathyanarayanan/Felix Andre, 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish:  #4, Doubles, #3, #1, #2
 

Belmont 3, Morgan State 2
Singles
1. Cedric Dujacquier (BELM) def. S. Sathyanarayanan (MORGAN) 6-0, 6-0
2. Jeremy Field (MORGAN) de. Robin Demasse (BELM) 6-3, 6-2
3. Adam Rudowski (BELM) def. Arjun Ramakrishnan (MORGAN) 7-6, (11-9), 6-1
4. Bruno Russo (BELM) def. Felix Andre (MORGAN) 6-2, 6-2
 
Doubles?
1. Evan Ward/Lucas Krusinski (MORGAN) def. Caio Niel/Stephen Goldman (BELM) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
 
 
Sunday, January 17
 
VCU 5, Morgan State 0
Singles?
1- Catalin Fifea (VCU) vs. Evan Ward (MSU)  6-2, 7-6(3)?
2- Michal Voscek (VCU) def. Jeremy Field (MSU)  6-1, 6-1?
3- Daryl Monfils (VCU) def. Arjun Ramakrishnan (MSU)  6-2, 6-2?
4- Philip Mobius (VCU) def. Lucas Krusinski (MSU)  6-1, 6-2?
 
Doubles?
1- Jacob Svensson/Arvid Noren (VCU) vs. Felix Andre/Sagar Sathyanarayanan (MSU)  6-1, 6-3?   
Order of Finish: #1, #4, #3, Doubles, #1
 
 
Georgetown 3, Morgan State 2
Singles?
1- Michael Chen (GU) def. Sagar Sathyanarayanan (MSU)  6-1, 6-1?
2- Mac Rechan (GU) def. Evan Ward (MSU)  6-1, 6-4?
3- Felix Andre (MSU) def. Jack Murphy (GU) 7-5, 7-6(2)?
4- Lucas Kursinski (MSU) def. Bart Panarese (GU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Doubles?
1-  Jeremy Field/Arjun Ramakrishnan (MSU) def. Dan Khanin/Yannik Mahlangu (GU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
Order of Finish: #1, #2, Doubles, #3, #4