INDIANAPOLIS – Trailing 2-0, the IUPUI men's tennis team rallied to win four of the final five singles matches to claim a 4-3 win over Toledo Friday afternoon at the West Indy Racquet Club.
 
The win snapped a lengthy losing streak to the Rockets, which dated back to the 2008 season, and improved the Jaguars record to 4-10. Toledo dropped to 8-10 overall.
 
"This was one of the best wins we have had. We beat a really good team and I'm excited because we didn't play our best tennis and we still found a way to the get the win," head coach Brandon Currie said. "We have a lot of respect for that team and we still have room for improvement - especially in doubles. But I thought our guys had a high level of energy and showed great heart in singles, and this helped us grow as a team."
 
It was the Rockets who got off to the good start taking the doubles point with wins of 6-1 and 6-4 at the top two doubles positions.
 
Toledo grew its lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at the No. 1 singles spot, but the Jags started to gain some momentum when David Beasley earned a 6-1, 7-5 win at the four spot to make the score 2-1.
 
Adam Reinhart evened things up with a 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 3 spot, before Jose Calero put IUPUI a point away from victory following his 6-5, 6-3 win in the sixth slot.
 
Toledo then knotted the score at 3-3 with a win at the No. 2 singles spot, turning all the attention to the fifth spot.
 
The decisive match was filled with ups and downs as Akshay Verma got out to a one-set lead, only to fall behind 5-2 in the second set. Verma rallied to knot the second set at 5-5, only to later drop it by a 7-5 score sending the match to a third set. Things didn't look good with Verma trailing 5-1 in the third set, but the sophomore managed to fight back and force a tiebreaker after evening the score at 6-6. In the breaker, both players were battling cramps, but it was Verma who was able to eke out the 7-5 win in the breaker to finish off the victory.
 
Up next for the Jags is another Mid-American Conference opponent in Ball State. The Jaguars will head to Muncie, Ind., on Friday, March 13, to square off against the Cardinals at 3 p.m.