KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Bowdoin College men’s tennis team made a bid for a late comeback in singles play but lost an eventual 5-2 decision to Claremont Mudd Scripps in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship on Monday. 

The Polar Bears finished a phenomenal season with a record of 18-5. 

Bowdoin dug itself a 3-0 hole in doubles play that eventually proved just too much to overcome. After an 8-3 loss at No. 2 doubles, Bowdoin was tied 5-5 at the top spot and 6-6 at No. 3. The Stags came away with wins at both positions to take a commanding 3-0 advantage.

CMS extended its lead to 4-0 with a singles victory at No. 5 before the tide began turning in Bowdoin’s direction.

Oscar Yang finished off a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3 to get on the board, followed by a three-set victory by Justin Patel at the sixth spot, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, trimming the CMS lead to 4-2.

Down a set at the No. 1 position, Grant Urken fought off a match point to force a second-set tiebreaker. However, Nikolai Parodi came away with a 10-8 victory in the tiebreaker to finish off a 7-6, 7-6 win and clinch the match for CMS.

The two remaining matches were both in third sets when the decision was reached. 

Seniors Urken and Jerry Jiang will compete in the NCAA individual singles and doubles championships that begin on Friday in Kalamazoo.