The Colorado College men's tennis team couldn't rally from an early 3-0 deficit Friday and lost to Schreiner University, 5-3, in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in San Antonio, Texas.
 
The Tigers fell behind early as the Mountaineers swept the three doubles matches. Johnathan Christie and Nick Pena downed senior Jason Gutierrez and freshman Noah Forman, 8-6, at the No. 1 position, while Dayton Hancock and Isaac Vasquez defeated senior Jack Benham and freshman Logan Pepperl, 8-4, at the No. 2 spot. Ryan New and Andrew Albright completed the sweep with an 8-4 victory over sophomore Daniel Holland and freshman Kevin Barry at No. 3.
 
The Tigers fought back with everything they had in singles, but came up just short. Pepperl started the rally with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nathan Torres at the No. 4 position, but Schreiner's Hoanh Le downed Gutierrez, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 2 for a 4-1 lead.
 
Holland pulled out a win at the No. 3 spot when Pena was forced to retire early in the third set and Barry defeated Joshua Newman, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5 to close the gap to 4-3.
 
Christie clinched the match for Schreiner by rallying from a set down to beat Forman, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 1 position. The No. 6 match between sophomore Christian Kitchen and Vasquez was then halted with each player winning a set.
 
"We went down 3-0 after doubles, but got three big wins in singles to storm back," head coach Anthony Weber said. "Noah (Forman) played an amazing match, but came up just short in the third. The conditions were pretty tough, but the guys competed at about as high a level that I could ask. I am very proud of them."
 
The Tigers (5-13) will battle Texas Lutheran on Saturday, April 29 in the fifth-place match.
 
 
(4) Schreiner Univ. 5, (5) Colorado College 3
April 28, 2017
San Antonio, Texas
Quarterfinals – 2017 SCAC Championships
 
Doubles
1. Johnathan Christie / Nick Pena (SCH) def. Noah Forman / Jason Gutierrez, 8-6
2. Dayton Hancock / Isaac Vasquez (SCH) def. Logan Pepperl / Jack Benham, 8-4
3. Ryan New / Andrew Albright (SCH) def. Daniel Holland / Kevin Barry, 8-4
 
Singles
1. Johnathan Christie (SCH) def. Noah Forman, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
2. Hoanh Le (SCH) def. Jason Gutierrez, 6-2, 6-1
3. Daniel Holland (CC) def. Nick Pena, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0, ret.
4. Logan Pepperl (CC) def. Nathan Torres, 6-4, 6-2
5. Kevin Barry (CC) def. Joshua Newman, 6-2, 6-2
6. Christian Kitchen (CC) vs. Isaac Vasquez, 7-5, 6-7, DNF