The AU men's tennis team was defeated in its final regular-season match ever Sunday, 4-2, to Army, which sealed the right to host the Patriot League tournament.
The match was originally scheduled to be the Eagles' last home match, but it was forced to be relocated to the University of Maryland College Park due to inclement weather.
"It obviously wasn't the result we were looking for, but our guys gave their best effort," AU coach Kyle Bailey said. "I still feel like we can bounce back from this and have a good shot to win the tournament."
The team was off to a positive start, winning the doubles point. Despite junior Andrew Singer and Sebastien Proisy's defeat, seniors Juancarlo Vasquez and Nicolas Frayssinoux were victorious, as well as junior Ben Weltman and his partner, freshman Josh Levitz.
The rest of the match proved to be more challenging as the Black Knights dominated singles play, when the Eagles managed just one win.
Only Proisy was able to come out on top of his opponent, Phil Muhawi, 2-0 (6-3, 6-3). Levitz didn't finish his match because Army had already earned enough points to win.
Although the match resulted in defeat, the team was not devastated by the loss.
"I don't feel that anything in particular went wrong," Schnell said. "We are still motivated and still have a lot of work to do."
Fraynissoux added: "The guys played well. Everybody gave 100 percent. We showed a lot of heart and that's the best thing. We always stick together."
Schnell explained that the most painful part of the loss was the finality that it signified in terms of the men's tennis at AU.
"Every now and then our heads drop when we think about the fact that this is really the end," he said.
Said Frayssinoux: "It's hard to finish the season like that. It is tough to lose this match when we worked so hard all season."
Schnell also said the team has felt a distinct lack of support from the athletic department this season.
"It's a horrible feeling knowing that the administration doesn't want to support a team like us," he said.
Athletic department spokesperson Anthony Wilson said the team has been supported the same "in terms of resources and academic support" as other programs. "Members of the senior staff" also attended the match, he added.
The team was still undeterred by the loss.
"The loss doesn't hurt our momentum or chances," Schnell said. "Just because we aren't hosting the tournament doesn't mean that we won't win the tournament."
The team will face Navy Saturday in the PL tournament, hosted by Army.
