COLUMBUS, Ohio -  Senior tri-captain Steven Moneke, a member of the national runners-up Ohio State men's tennis team, lost 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Ole Miss freshman Devin Britton in the final of the 2009 NCAA Singles Championship Monday in College Station, Texas, at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Moneke, a native of Alten-Buseck, Germany, finishes the 2008-09 campaign with a 45-5 overall record, which ties Roger Smith (1983-1986) for first on the program's all-time single season wins list set during the 1986 campaign.

The ninth-ranked Moneke, who was named to the 2009 Men's NCAA Tennis Championship All-Tournament Team last week at No. 2 singles, became the first student-athlete in program history to advance to the NCAA final after Ernie Fernandez (1979-82) advanced as far as the semifinals at the 1980 NCAA Singles Championship.

The loss against No. Britton snaps Moneke's 22-match win streak. Moneke, a two-time ITA All-American ('07 and '08) finishes his four-year Buckeye career with 146 singles wins, which is a program-best. The entire NCAA championships were 12 days long; Moneke competed in 10 of those 12 days, including nine-consecutive days of hard-court tennis. Moneke, who advanced to the quarterfinals the past three years, finishes his NCAA play with a career record of 23-3.

The final match Monday at the 2009 NCAA Singles Championship completes the 2008-09 campaign for the Buckeyes. Ohio State, ranked second in the latest Campbell/ITA College Tennis Division I Rankings, broke several records this year including most wins in a season with 36 (2 losses), longest dual-match winning streak with 28-consecutive victories and best winning percentage in program history (.947).

Singles
Final
No. 30 Devin Britton (Mississippi) def. No. 9 Steven Moneke (Ohio State), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3