For the first time since 2013, the Lehigh men’s tennis team returned to the Patriot League Championship on Sunday afternoon. The top-seeded Mountain Hawks (15-9, 6-1 Patriot) fell to No. 2 Navy 4-2 (27-17, 6-1 Patriot) in the title match at the Ulrich Varsity Tennis Courts.
The two teams previously met on March 28, when Lehigh beat Navy 4–3 in a tight contest that came down to the final singles point.
Senior Wyeth Anzilotti and first-year Henry Stoller started the day strong at No. 2 doubles with a 6-2 win over senior Aniketh Ayinala and junior Tommy Kim.
“Coming into the match today, my mindset was to try and end my legacy as positively as possible,” Anzilotti said. “I saw a lot of good things from our team and there were a lot of positives in our play.”
Junior Alex Van Lumich and fifth-year Sean Jaeger followed suit with a back-and-forth match at No. 1, defeating senior Herrick Legaspi and sophomore Charlie Spencer 7-5 to clinch the point.
Lehigh carried its doubles momentum into No. 2 singles play, building a 2-0 lead as Van Lumich beat Ayinala, 6-0, 6-1.
The Midshipmen quickly responded, cutting the deficit to 2-1 as senior Herrick Legaspi defeated Jaeger at No. 1, 6–1, 6-4.
“Navy was able to come back at the right time and at the end of the day, that was the difference,” Van Lumich said. “We prepared like we normally do, but it just wasn’t enough today.”
At No. 6, Stoller fell to junior Steve Nguyen 6–2, 6–3, tying the match at 2–2.
Senior Jeffrey Etterbeek continued Navy’s momentum, defeating sophomore Ofer Hacohen at No. 5, 6–1, 6–4, to lead 3-2.
First-year Aleksandar Daskalovic and Spencer traded sets at No. 3, with Spencer taking the first 6–0 before Daskalovic responded in Lehigh’s favor, 6-3. Daskalovic ultimately fell to Spencer 6-3, securing Navy’s championship win.
“Even though we came up short today, I’m so proud of our guys for their hard work this year,” coach Craig Schwartz said. “It’s a historic season for us and we’ll be back stronger next year, hopefully celebrating on Navy’s courts.”
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