MARION, Ind. - Grace's men's tennis team fell short in the Crossroads League Tournament, losing to Indiana Wesleyan 5-2 in the semifinals on Thursday.

The Lancers fell behind early, losing two of the three doubles' matches to sink into an early hole. Grace's doubles' victory came at the top position.

Daniel Sanchez got Grace back on the winning track in singles' competition, winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Grace lost in straight sets at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 singles, and the Wildcats clinched their spot in the CL championship match. The singles' matches at No. 3 and No. 6 were not completed.

"I could not have been more proud of our guys. They fought hard in doubles and almost won at two doubles," said Grace head coach Larry Schuh. "Papi [Daniel Sanchez] was at the top of his game and got us a quick point in singles to tie the score, but their lineup ended up being too deep for us. Overall it was a solid year. I was extremely impressed at our improvement in singles this year. All our guys fought hard at their slots."

Grace ends the fall season with a 7-3 record, including 6-2 in CL play.

Schuh also remarked:

"Papi finished the year 9-1 in conference at No. 1 singles and 14-2 overall in singles. That really is an amazing accomplishment seeing as one of his two losses was in the championship match against a Division I transfer at the 64-player ITA singles tournament.
Jose also had a great year at No. 2 for us, finishing 7-1 in conference and 10-3 overall. He is just a battler and a hard worker on court. He brings a grittiness to our team that stengthens our team as a whole.
Ethan also stepped up for us this year. He did not play in our singles lineup last fall and earned the No. 4 singles spot this year. That's a big task and he did very well. He ended up going 5-3 in conference at singles and 6-5 on the year. His strong doubles play also helped secure our No. 3 seed in conference with a key win at two doubles vs. Goshen.
Our most improved player from last year would have to be Jake. He was given a huge responsibilty at No. 3 singles and was the reason why we were able to secure the three seed in conference. He put the team on his back when we played Goshen and beat a tough player in a three-set marathon. He finished the year 6-2 in conference and 8-3 overall. He also played No. 1 doubles our last 3 matches and went 3-0 as well."

DOUBLES
1. Daniel Sanchez/Jacob Stump won 9-7
2. Ethan Grove/Jose Marval lost 7-9
3. Gabe Vervynckt/David Driscoll lost 2-8

SINGLES
1. Sanchez won 6-2, 6-1
2. Marval lost 4-6, 4-6
3. Stump did not finish
4. Grove lost 4-6, 2-6
5. Vervynckt lost 2-6, 5-7
6. Bedon did not finish