Two seniors closed out their careers with solid seasons for the Muhlenberg

A two-time Player’s Player, Reading won the Sportsmanship Award at the Philadelphia Area Team Tournament in the fall.

men’s tennis team in 2005.

Jeff Kraft finished the season as the Mules’ No. 1 player for the third year in a row. He went 7-5 in singles play as a senior and ended his career with a combined record of 89-54, including a 48-24 singles mark.

Playing at career-high spots of No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles, Mitchell Reading led Muhlenberg in combined wins (15) and singles wins (eight) in spring dual matches, running his career record to 64-50.

Unfortunately for the Mules, the play of the seniors did not translate into great team success. For the second year in a row, Muhlenberg was 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the Centennial Conference.

The team started out strong, going 2-0 in the fall and winning four of its first six spring matches, but had difficulty down the stretch. The Mules’ last win came in come-from-behind fashion at home: For the first time since the start of seven-point scoring, they dropped the doubles point but rebounded to capture five of six singles matches.

Junior Brad Gutwillig posted a 7-5 mark at No. 2 singles and is the leading returning candidate to take over the No. 1 slot. Freshmen Jesse Kirschenbaum (6-5 at No. 5) and David Yaron (5-4 at No. 6) both posted winning records in their first collegiate season.