BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — The Shaw University men's team ended its season with a 5-3 loss to Kutztown in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in a match played Sunda afternoon at the Sarver Tennis Center after bad weather forced them indoors.

The Bears, who were seeded fifth in the region, finish the season 14-8, while Kutztown, the fourth seed, improves to 14-6 and now faces host Bluefield State for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

Short-handed, the Bears opened the match down 2-0 after forfeiting the number three doubles and number six singles matches.  Samuel Padilla and Juan Sanchez trimmed the lead to 2-1 when they downed Kenny Beebe and Matthew Maguire 8-4.

Rushi Amin and Varun Desai downed Shaw's Sergio Cuartas and Charles Silva 8-5 to give Kutztown a 3-1 lead going into the singles matches in the best-of-nine format.

Sanchez trimmed the Kutztown lead to 3-2 with his 6-2, 6-2 win over Maguire, but Amin handed Silva only his second loss on the season with a 6-2, 6-0 result to boost the Golden Bears to a 4-2 advantage.

Cuartas then reported his 6-4, 6-4 win over Desai to keep Shaw alive and cut the Kutztown lead to 4-3.  With the number four singles in a close battle, it came down to the number five singles match.

KU's Rich Lichtenwalner won the first set 6-2 against Padilla, but Padilla battled back in the second set, tying it at 6-6 and forcing the tiebreak.  Lichtenwalner finally got a key service break and took the tiebreak 8-6 to claim the second set, and give Kutztown the 5-3 win.

Cuartas and Sanchez both finish the season with one loss each at singles.   None of the Bears are seniors and all are expected to return next season.