TOWSON, Md. – After beginning the 2013 season 2-0, Penn State Harrisburg's men's tennis team dropped its first match of the fall on Tuesday evening, Oct. 8.  The Lions fell on the road to Goucher in a heartbreaker when the Gophers picked up their first victory of the year by topping the visitors by the slimmest of margins 5-4.

The Blue & White found themselves in a hole after doubles play due to Goucher taking two of the three matches in the early going.  Penn State Harrisburg's top duo of freshman Johnny Xue (Blue Hill, Maine / George Stevens Academic) and senior Vincent Lepore III (Chepachet, R.I. / Ponaganset) fell to the Gophers' Seth Hoesman and David Spivey 8-1 while the Lions' number two team of sophomore Ben Leibig (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon) and senior Tyler Miller (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg) were topped by Goucher's Midori Fujitani and Chad Resnik by an 8-5 margin.

Only the Lions' number three pairing of sophomore Alex Koltun (Mount Gretna, Pa. / Cedar Crest) and freshman Chris Magee (Westminster, Md. / Manchester Valley) emerged victorious in doubles play, besting Goucher's William Felinski and John Bescoby 8-1.

That early deficit proved to be the deciding factor.  In singles play, both squads split victories in the individual portion of the match, giving Goucher the win.

Penn State Harrisburg's top three in Xue, Leibig and Miller fell to the Gophers' Hoesman, Spivey and Fujitani in two sets each while Koltun, Magee and Lepore picked up victories in the team's 4-6 slots.  Koltun defeated Resnik 6-1, 6-1, Magee downed Bescoby 6-1, 6-0 and Lepore kept Felinski from winning a single game in his 6-0, 6-0 victory.

The Lions will look to bounce back and end the first portion of their 2013-14 schedule on a high note when they host Albright on Wednesday, Oct. 9 in the team's fall finale.