GREENVILLE, Ill. – The Greenville University men's tennis team came up just short Saturday evening at the Scott J. Burgess Tennis Complex, falling 4-3 to Rose-Hulman in a tightly contested match that was not decided until the final singles courts were completed.
The Panthers earned three singles victories, but the visiting Fightin' Engineers claimed the doubles point and secured enough singles wins to edge Greenville by a single point.
In doubles action, Greenville's No. 3 tandem of
Colton Hulme and
Noah Garcia Barlagne rallied for a 7-6 (7-4) victory over Joao Henrique Nosier and Ephraim Guthrie. Rose-Hulman, however, captured wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to take the early 1-0 team advantage.
Greenville responded with a strong effort in singles play.
At No. 2 singles,
Colton Hulme earned one of the match's most dramatic victories, outlasting Tim Eckermann in a third-set super tiebreaker, 7-5, 5-7, 10-7.
The Panthers also picked up wins from
Vicente Reis at No. 5 singles, who defeated Chris Lian 7-6, 7-4, and
Alejandro Vasquez at No. 6 singles, who battled past Yuki Usuda 7-6, 9-7, 6-3.
Rose-Hulman secured the remaining singles points at Nos. 1, 3, and 4.
Jean Sanabria pushed hard at the top spot before falling 7-5, 7-5, while
Noah Garcia Barlagne was defeated 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3.
Ephraim Guthrie claimed a three-set victory at No. 4 singles, overcoming
Francisco Trujillo after a match tiebreak.
Despite the setback, Greenville showed resilience throughout the lineup, with two singles matches extending to match tiebreaks and several sets decided by the narrowest of margins.
The Panthers (0-1) will look to build on the competitive performance as they continue their fall schedule.
