Anna 
Old Dominion men’s tennis came up just short against Utah in its final match of the Ed Collins Invite, falling 4-3 on Sunday evening.
The Monarchs started strong in doubles play. Connor Van Schalkwyk and Yanis Moundir secured a 6-3 victory over Reid Jarvis and Dante Teramo at the No. 1 spot. At No. 3 doubles, Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan and Adam Majchrzak clinched the opening point for ODU with a 6-4 win over Nicolas Calixto and Emmett Potter. Meanwhile, the No. 2 match featuring Aryan Saleh and Thomas Nelson against Berk Bugarikj and Max Relic was left unfinished with ODU trailing 4-5.
Utah responded in singles action. Bugarikj got the Utes on the board with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Connor Van Schalkwyk at No. 1. However, ODU regained the lead when Saleh defeated Relic 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5. Moundir pushed the Monarchs to the brink of victory, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win over Teramo at No. 3.
Despite being down 3-1, Utah mounted a comeback. Potter defeated Olivier de Sardan 6-4, 6-4 at No. 4, and Frey overcame Nelson in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, to even the match at 3-3. The deciding point came down to a dramatic tiebreaker between Majchrzak and Jarvis at No. 6. After dropping the first set, Jarvis rallied to claim a 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 win, sealing the victory for Utah.
“Today’s match showed that there are bigger things in life than tennis,” said ODU head coach Dominik Mueller. “Losing a player five minutes before the match starts and still putting ourselves in position to win speaks volumes about this team’s character. They stepped up in a big way and grew as a unit.”
Old Dominion will now turn its attention to Sun Belt Conference play. The Monarchs hit the road to face Georgia State on Wednesday, March 12, at 11 a.m.
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