BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- The Morgan State men's tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss against the Campbell Fighting Camels under the lights Tuesday night at the James R. Nisbet Tennis Center. After the Bears captured the doubles point, the Camels rolled in singles play, winning five of six flights to claim the victory.

Morgan State falls to 2-12 for the season, while the Camels improved to 7-0 record at home and is 13-3 for the season.

"We lost a tough match today," said MSU coach Matthew Townes. "Campbell is very good team, with a lot of experience. We competed well across the board, but didn't capitalize on the crucial opportunities we created for ourselves."

"We are extremely talented, but very young (5 of our 7 guys are first or second year players)."

Campbell opened the match with a win at No. 2 doubles from Gerard Sola and Jonathan O'Neal over MSU's Arjun Ramakrishnan and Sagar Sathyanarayanan, 6-3. MSU responded with back-to-back wins. Jeremy Field and Lucas Krusinski teamed up to beat CU's Dustin Werner and Lorenz Schwab on court one, and the duo of Ondrej Labik and Nihit Rawal held on for a 7-5 win on court three to clinch the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead into singles action.

The Camels would go on to post five singles wins. Fernando Clemente got Campbell off to a good start by posting a 6-4, 6-0 win against Krusinski on court four. Louis Monterosso dropped Sathyanarayanan on court six with a score of 6-2, 6-2. O'Neal earned a hard-fought win against Rawal on court five, 6-1, 7-5 to give CU a commanding 3-1 lead.

The match was clinched at No. 2 singles, where Dustin Werner picked up a 6-3, 6-4 win versus Ramakrishnan.  Lukas Schaefer forced a third tiebreaker set to earn a victory against Field on court one, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-4).

Ondrej Labik battled to a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9) victory against Gerard Sola on court three, to end the match.

"We are playing doubles very well, which was a vulnerable spot on our team last season," added Townes. "As we continue to grow and mature, the W's will come. I'm proud of our efforts, and look forward to bouncing back on Thursday against NCCU."
 

Up next, the Bears will take on the North Carolina Central Eagles on Thursday, March 23. That contest is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start at the Dr. James W. Younge Tennis Courts in Durham, N.C.

Tennis Match Results
Morgan State vs Campbell
Mar 21, 2017 at Buies Creek, N.C.
(James R. Nisbet Tennis Center)

Campbell 5, Morgan State 2

Singles competition
1. SCHAEFER, Lukas (CAM-M) def. FIELD,Jeremy (MSUM) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-4)
2. WERNER, Dustin (CAM-M) def. RAMAKRISHNAN,Arjun (MSUM) 6-3, 6-4
3. LABIK,Ondrej (MSUM) def. SOLA, Gerard (CAM-M) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)
4. CLEMENTE, Fernando (CAM-M) def. KRUSINSKI,Lucas (MSUM) 6-4, 6-0
5. O'NEAL, Jonathan (CAM-M) def. RAWAL,Nihit (MSUM) 6-1, 7-5
6. MONTEROSSO, Louis (CAM-M) def. SATHYANARAYANAN,S. (MSUM) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. FIELD,Jeremy/KRUSINSKI,Lucas (MSUM) def. WERNER, Dustin/SCHWAB, Lorenz (CAM-M) 6-4
2. SOLA, Gerard/O'NEAL, Jonathan (CAM-M) def. RAMAKRISHNAN,Arjun/SATHYANARAYANAN,S. (MSUM) 6-3
3. LABIK,Ondrej/RAWAL,Nihit (MSUM) def. SCHAEFER, Lukas/AYET, Fabien (CAM-M) 7-5

Match Notes:
Morgan State 2-10
Campbell 13-3

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,6,5,2,1,3)