ORLANDO, FL (March 8, 2009) – In its opening day of play during five Spring break matches, the Vassar men's tennis team lost to Coe (IL) College, 5-4, Sunday afternoon. The match pitted two highly-ranked regional teams in Florida for the second straight year. The Brewers came in ranked No. 11 in the Northeast Region in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ledger while Coe sits in the No. 13 position in the Central Region. The deciding match came at No. 2 singles where Coe's Joey Lankelma narrowly edged Vassar's sophomore Max Willner (Bronx, NY/The Dwight School) in a tight three set match, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.

The Brewers, now 3-2 in the spring season, will face another stiff challenge on Monday, March 9 with an 11:00 am match against Christoper Newport College, ranked No. 7 in the Atlantic South Region.

The match was tied 4-4 with Willner facing Lankelma, who played No. 1 for Coe last season. “Max showed a lot of heart and was so close to pulling out the victory for us,” said head coach Ki Kroll, depicting the slight 7-5 loss in the third set. “As a team, we played very well today and almost upset Coe. I feel this was the best match we've played this season and while it was a tough loss I think the team gained much needed confidence after playing so well.”

Junior Mike Mattelson (Great Neck, NY/Great Neck North) secured victories in doubles along with sophomore Greg Katz (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin Senior) and then parlayed that performance into an impressive three set victory at No. 1 singles. “Mike took the reins today and played great in both his singles and doubles matches today,” said Kroll.

Vassar's No. 4 and No. 6 singles players, junior Shane Donahue (Oakland, CA/Skyline) and sophomore Joshua Jasso (Olmito, TX/James Pace) had significant victories, Donahue's coming in a third set tie-breaker and Jasso capturing his in three tough sets. “Those victories were great accomplishments for both players,” noted Kroll.

Coe College 5, Vassar 4

Doubles
1. Mike Mattelson/Greg Katz (VC) def. Sam Zerbib/Elliott Rausa (CC), 9-7
2. Ryan King/Scott Stegmen (CC) def. Jeremy Rosen/Joshua Jasso (VC), 8-2
3. Joey Lankelma/Greg Janssen (CC) def. Max Willner/Pete Ludlow (VC), 8-6

Singles
1. Mattelson (VC) def. King (CC), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
2. Lankelma (CC) def. Willner (VC), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Janssen (CC) def. Katz (VC), 6-3, 7-5
4. Donahue (VC) def. Zerbib (CC), 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(8)
5. Rausa (CC) def. Rosen (VC), 6-2, 6-4
6. Jasso (VC) def. Stegmen (CC), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3