LEBANON, N.J. – The TCNJ men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the spring on Saturday night as Union emerged with victories in two of three singles super tiebreakers to edge out a 4-3 thriller at Courtside Racquet Club.
 
The Lions dropped the doubles point for the first time this spring, despite a dominant 6-1 win for Harrison Maitland-Carter and Asa Wong in the top flight.
 
Union, however, won 6-2 at No. 3 and edged Nathan Chan and Alberto Thomas, 7-5, at No. 2.
 
Thomas sprung a critical second-set comeback in singles. Thomas climbed out of a 4-5, 0-30 hole against Jesus Sosa, saving a set point to hold serve and breaking on a deuce point at 5-5. He then closed out a 6-2, 7-5 victory with a hold to 15.
 
Maitland-Carter won the first set at No. 2 and nearly pulled off a stunning rally in the second, overcoming a 0-40 hole to save four set points and hold serve for a tiebreak. But Daniel Saxe took the breaker on his third set point, and outlasted Maitland-Carter, 11-9, in the third-set super tiebreak.
 
Maitland-Carter fell behind 5-1 in the super breaker, but came all the way back to pull even at 7-7 and even had a match point at 8-9 on Saxe's serve, but the Garnet Charger claimed the next three points to escape with a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 thriller.
 
Chan avenged his teammate with a mirroring effort at No. 3, where he came back from 8-3 and 9-6 down in the third-set tiebreaker to stun Solen Bellemare 7-5, 1-6, 11-9 with three match points saved.
 
Union, however, clinched the dual by winning at No. 4 and No. 5; in the former, Aidan Twamley conceded a third-set super tiebreak in another tight match.
 
Brett Schuster finished the night with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Vivaan Gupta in the sixth flight.
 
NOTES

• Thomas' career win tally now stands at 96 after his singles comeback

UP NEXT

• The Lions return to Courtside for a matchup with No. 35 Franklin & Marshall next Saturday