BARONS LOSE FIRST ROUND MATCH IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Franciscan University men's tennis season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 5-0 loss on Friday to North Carolina Wesleyan College. The Battling Bishops, ranked eighth in the South Atlantic Region, established themselves early on in the match as the superior team but the Barons continued to battle until N.C. Wesleyan won their fifth and final match.

The two toughest fights of the day came in #1 doubles and #1 singles, carried in large part by senior captain Paul Jarzynka. Jarzynka and doubles partner sophomore Zachary Quiza stormed back from a 5-0 deficit to push the game into a tiebreaker game.

Jarzynka's passionate play and refusal to let his career finish with a sputter led to another comeback effort.

The senior fell to his opponent in the first set of the #1 singles match but his superb play at the net helped him battle back to a 3-1 lead in the second set when a Wesleyan win at #2 singles ended the match.

"The only way he could've finished his career better would have been if he was able to pull those both out," said head coach Jeremy Ellis of the AMCC Player of the Year. "He's not only a great player on the tennis court but a great captain and a great individual."

The program finished its third season as full NCAA members with a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, adding legitimacy to their historic run in during the 2013 season. Ellis said that plan is to make national qualification a habit for Franciscan Tennis.

"We're going to continue to make a showing here. We want to be one of the teams that the NCAA is used to seeing," Ellis said. "I think two years in a row is great and we're going to go for three."