ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– The Navy (11-3) men's tennis team played two close matches against teams from Philadelphia on Sunday, losing a 5-2 decision to Villanova (5-2) and defeating Temple (3-4) by the score of 4-3.
 
The Mids began Sunday by losing each of the doubles matches to the Wildcats.  Derrick Thompson (Fr., Towson, Md.) then lost just four games in winning at No. 1 singles to tie the score at 1-1.  After a Villanova win at No. 6 singles, Romesh Kahatapitiya (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) posted a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win at the No. 5 flight to again even the score.  The Wildcats would win the remaining three matches to record the victory.
 
"We started out well in doubles," said Navy head coach Chris Garner, "but Villanova played well to take the momentum and secure the doubles point.  Derrick did a good job to get us on the scoreboard.  Villanova played and competed well throughout the rest of the lineup to win the match."
 
A new lineup took to the courts against the Owls, and the Mids opened the match by winning all three doubles matches to earn the available point.  Included in those results was a 6-3 victory by Jack Dabek (Fr., Dublin, Ohio) and Andrew Ton (So., Milpitas, Calif.) over Alberto Casas and Mark Wallner, the 20^th ranked team in the country, at the No. 1 flight.
 
"All three doubles teams secured the point with aggressive returns and strong serving," said Garner.
 
Ton then opened singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 1 over Ulaszimer Dorash.  Temple won the next two matches to finish –– Nos. 5 and 6, respectively –– then Casas rallied after dropping the first set to defeat Greg Durham (Jr., Melbourne Beach, Calif.) and give the Owls a 3-2 lead.
 
Peter Lohrbach (So., Little Neck, N.Y.) tied the match again with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 win over Juan Araoz at No. 4 singles.  That left the No. 3 match between Wallner and Jake Fishkin (Fr., Baltimore, Md.) remaining on the courts to decide matters.  Wallner won the first set by the score of 6-4, then Fishkin took set two by an identical score.  Fishkin would tally a 6-2 win in the third set to secure the final point of the day.
 
"Andrew got off to a quick start and never looked back," said Garner.  "Peter came up big in the third set of his match.  I was impressed with how he competed to close out the match.  Jake rose to the occasion with the match tied at 3-3.  He played some of his best tennis of the match down the stretch.  It was an important win for Jake and, more importantly, a great team win with the support he received from his teammates."
 
Navy will play host to Binghamton and Richmond on Saturday.
 
Villanova def. Navy, 5-2
Doubles – Villanova wins the doubles point (1-3-2)
1. Dodson, Thomas / Roth, Tyler (VILL) def. McBride, Jack / Thompson, Derrick (NAVY) 6-3
2. Mulflur, Tommy / Suarez, Stefan (VILL) def. Kahatapitiya, Romesh / Kjellberg, Jan (NAVY) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Flanagan, Dylan / Schuls, Charlie (VILL) def. Hicks, Andrew / Lee, Matthew (NAVY) 6-4
Singles (1-6-5-2-4-3)
1. Thompson, Derrick (NAVY) def. Suarez, Stefan (VILL) 6-1, 6-3
2. Roth, Tyler (VILL) def. Lee, Matthew (NAVY) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Dodson, Thomas (VILL) def. Kjellberg, Jan (NAVY) 7-5, 7-5
4. Flanagan, Dylan (VILL) def. McBride, Jack (NAVY) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Kahatapitiya, Romesh (NAVY) def. Schuls, Charlie (VILL) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Mulflur, Tommy (VILL) def. Vagner, Sam (NAVY) 6-3, 6-4
 
Navy def. Temple, 4-3
Doubles – Navy wins the doubles point (3-1-2)
1. Dabek, Jack / Ton, Andrew (NAVY) def. #20 Casas, Alberto / Wallner, Mark (TEMP) 6-3
2. Durham, Greg / Fishkin, Jake (NAVY) def. Araoz, Juan / Biscoveanu, Eric (TEMP) 6-3
3. Kirkpatrick, Cameron / Lohrbach, Peter (NAVY) def. Bohorquez, Francisco / Dorash, Uladzimir (TEMP) 6-2
Singles (1-5-6-2-4-3)
1. Ton, Andrew (NAVY) def. Dorash, Uladzimir (TEMP) 6-2, 6-2
2. Casas, Alberto (TEMP) def. Durham, Greg (NAVY) 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. Fishkin, Jake (NAVY) def. Wallner, Mark (TEMP) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Lohrbach, Peter (NAVY) def. Araoz, Juan (TEMP) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
5. Bohorquez, Francisco (TEMP) def. Dabek, Jack (NAVY) 6-3, 6-2
6. Biscoveanu, Eric (TEMP) def. Kirkpatrick, Cameron (NAVY) 6-4, 6-3