Release courtesy of Swarthmore Athletic Communications

CHATTANOOGA, TN - The No. 7 Swarthmore College men's tennis team had its season come to an end with a hard-fought 4-1 battle against No. 3 Tufts University on Tuesday. The Garnet finished the season with a 22-7 record, while achieving their first quarterfinals appearance since 2006 and matching their highest win total in program history.  

Nikola Galov wrapped up a phenomenal rookie campaign with the team's lone singles victory. The rookie triumphed at fourth singles in a two-set decision against the 21st-ranked player in the country. 

TUFTS 4, SWARTHMORE 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Swarthmore dropped the doubles point to the Jumbos with a pair of losses at the second and third positions. Andres Fente/ Kai Chen dropped a tightly-contested 6-4 showdown at second action, while Max Lindstrom/ Winston Zhang fell 6-2. 

- Dylan Hayes Gilbert fell at sixth singles to concede the first singles point. The sophomore lost 6-1 in the opening set, before dropping a competitive second stanza, 6-4. On the brink of defeat, Gilbert rallied in the second set to pull within one game, but ran out of steam as his opponent clinched victory. 

- Fente dropped a pair of close sets at fifth singles. The senior fell 6-3 in the opener, before suffering a 6-4 defeat in the second set. Fente took an early 3-0 edge in the final stanza, but was unable to hold off his surging challenger. 

- Galov kept the Garnet in the fight with a masterful performance at fourth singles. The rookie standout put his team on the scoreboard with a pair of 6-3 decisions. Galov jumped out to an early lead in the closing set as he toppled the 21st-ranked player in the country.

- Lindstrom battled until the end in a hard-fought loss at second singles against the seventh-ranked player in the county. After trailing 4-0 in the opening set, the senior clawed all the way back to pull within one game, but eventually fell 6-4. The senior put forth another gutsy performance in the second set, but suffered a 6-3 loss to concede the clinching point. 

- Melnikov was involved in an intense top-singles showdown when a team victory was clinched. The senior held off his opponent with a 6-3 triumph in the opening set, but dropped the second stanza 6-3. Melnikov was leading 2-1 in the third set when the match was stopped. 

- Rishi Verma got off to a strong start at third singles, rolling past his opponent 6-3 in the opener. However, his 35th-ranked challenger punched back with a 6-2 victory in the second set, and was leading 5-2 when play was halted. 

UP NEXT
The Garnet will look to make a run at this weekend's individual championships. Melnikov and Lindstrom will represent the team in singles action, while Melnikov/ Koduri team up in the doubles bracket.