ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's tennis team put itself in unprecedented territory after a 6-3 Centennial Conference victory at Muhlenberg on Tuesday.

The Bears, who won their fourth straight match, are 4-1 in Centennial Conference play for the first time in program history. Additionally, they moved into a tie with Franklin & Marshall for second place in the league standings, behind only national powerhouse Johns Hopkins.

Thursday's tilt was a critical one, as the Mules came in with a matching 3-1 conference record and a similarly better-than-expected profile. Doubles competition played out true to form, with two of the three courts needing a tiebreaker to decide matters.

Darby Rogers, the hero of Saturday's comeback win over Dickinson, got things started with an 8-4 decision at No. 3 doubles alongside rookie counterpart Rob Ritchie.

The Mules (3-2, 3-2) threatened to even the score, but Mason Groff and Matt Fontanese climbed out of a two-break hole at 6-3 to force a breaker, which they ran away with to the tune of 7-2.

The number two court also went the distance, with Muhlenberg's duo eking out an 8-6 tiebreak result against Lars Jespersen and Will Oberholtzer.

Oberholtzer exacted his payback in singles, rolling to a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 3. Ritchie followed with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph at No. 6 to push Ursinus to the edge of clinching.

Muhlenberg stayed alive with straight-set victories on the top two courts, leaving the Bears in need of one of the last two remaining matches. They got both of them, starting with Jespersen's match-clinching 7-5, 6-4 decision at No. 3.

Rogers made the final score look even better with a tough 7-5, 7-6 (8) win at No. 5 singles.

The Bears will honor Groff and Fontanese along with Kyle Bookman on Senior Day before taking on Johns Hopkins on Saturday.