With a 2-1 lead in the third set of his singles match Friday against the University of Chicago at the University Athletic Association championships, Mike Vulfovich '07 reached deuce on rookie Garret Brinker's serve and needed a victory to take control of the match. Instead, two calls that went against Vulfovich led him to drop five of the last six games in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss.

"[The calls] completely broke my rhythm," Vulfovich said. "I got a point penalty for arguing with the line judge, and [Brinker] got all the momentum."

Vulfovich's third set was indicative of the men's tennis team's entire quarterfinal match against Chicago at the UAAs. After taking a 2-1 lead following doubles competition, the fifth-seeded Judges fell behind in singles and lost 5-4 to the fourth-seeded Maroons. The team rallied to win Saturday against the University of Rochester 6-1 and New York University 5-4 to finish fifth at the tournament. The Judges ended the season with an 11-8 record.

The women's team finished its season 9-9 after losing to Connecticut College 8-1 Wednesday.

After working hard all season to reach a No. 5 seed and being so close to making the second round of the tournament, the men's team's loss to Chicago was a particularly tough pill for the squad to swallow.

"[The loss] stunk, that's for sure," coach Ben Lamanna said. "Before the season, our goal was to get the five seed and play Chicago in the first round, and everything was working out perfectly. It makes you wonder what went wrong, but it's not like we held anything back."

Spurred by a 9-8 (4) victory by the No. 2 doubles team of Adam Sher '07 and Jordan Bieber '07, the men's team seemed to be in terrific position against Chicago, having not lost a single match this season when leading after doubles play.

The Judges lost the first three singles matches and found themselves in a 4-2 hole. Sher and Cliff Silverman '07 each lost in straight sets at No. 3 and No. 5 singles before Vulfovich's loss. Sam Jonas' '07 7-5, 6-3 victory over senior Vivek Venkataraman at No. 1 singles cut the deficit to 4-3, and Bieber came back from one set down to defeat junior Joseph Tchan 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-3.

The score was tied at four coming into No. 6 singles After losing the first set to junior Bharath Sithian, Scott Schulman '09 rebounded to win the second set, but dropped the third in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 loss.

"In the third set, [Sithian] started returning better and playing better defense," Schulman said.

The Judges nearly experienced a similar ending in their fifth-place match against New York University. They won two of the three doubles matches but fell behind in singles once again, trailing 4-3 after losses by Vulfovich, Sher and Bieber.

This time, however, the team's remaining singles players came through. After winning the first set 6-2, Jonas fell behind in the second set against junior Mikhail Gurevich but came back to win in a tiebreaker. Silverman finished his career with a game-winning victory, defeating rookie P.J. Marranca 6-3, 7-5.

"For [Jonas and Silverman] to walk off the court as winners in their final match, it was a good accomplishment," Lamanna said.

This was the last tournament for the team's five seniors, Jonas, Vulfovich, Sher, Bieber and Silverman, although Jonas and Vulfovich may play in Division III championships as a doubles team.

Jonas, the 2005 UAA Player of the Year, finished his singles career on a high note, with a 3-0 record during UAAs. Jonas struggled last fall after shoulder surgery hampered his serve, but after starting the spring season behind Vulfovich in the lineup, he eventually regained his customary spot on top in the Judges' lineup.

"It's sad that [my career] is coming to an end, but it's time to move on," Jonas said. "This has always been a great part of my life."

"[Jonas'] legacy should never be taken for granted," Lamanna said. "To win at the number-one spot like he's done is very hard, and he's sacrificed a lot for this program."

The women's team will lose only Jenicka Hornung '07 from its lineup, and will return their top four singles players. Top starters Colleen Donnelly '08 and Ana Katz '08 return for their senior seasons, and Gabrielle Helfgott '09, whose improvement in singles and doubles gave the Judges consistency in the middle of the lineup this spring, will also be back.