Senior Ross Crawford stopped Fulton's run in singles, but the Owls couldn't prevent seeing their season-opening seven-match win streak ended. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

The Marshall boys' tennis team suffered its first loss in its home meet since losing the finals to Hannibal in 2003.

Kirksville won all three of its matches Monday to end the Owls' streak of three straight Marshall Tournament championships. The Tigers' 7-2 victory over Fulton in the first contest of the round-robin tourney gave them the title.

After blanking Trenton (0-3), 9-0, for their seventh straight win, the Owls suffered back-to-back losses: 7-2 to the Hornets and 6-3 to Kirksville in an NCMC tilt.

Fulton hadn't beaten the Birds during MHS head coach Susan Carney's split 12-year tenure, but boasted a strong line-up -- so improved that the club's No. 1 singles player the last two seasons was playing at No. 4.

The Hornets won a battle of German foreign exchange students at No. 1 when junior Dennis Sohni got by junior Max Bildstein, 10-5. Fulton won each of the top four singles matches until senior Ross Crawford posted the Owls' first win at No. 5, 10-2. Sophomore Ethan Murphy followed that with a 10-2 victory at No. 6, but the Hornets (4-2) rebounded with a sweep of doubles play.

Marshall won twice in singles against the Tigers (4-1, 1-1 NCMC) behind junior Mac Evans (10-7) at No. 3 and sophomore John Van (10-5) at No. 4. The Owls also got a doubles decision from sophomores Brandon Mullins and Rick Schulenberg at No. 1, 10-4.

Senior Taylor Scarff won against Trenton, but was stopped the next two rounds. Also besting the Bulldogs were the doubles pairs of junior Trey Clemens and senior Matt Hockaday at No. 2 and freshman Patrick Butler and sophomore Mark Fry at No. 3.

It gets no easier for Marshall (7-2, 1-1), which plays three matches at mid-Missouri large schools, with a dual at Hickman today.