CEDARVILLE, OH – The men's tennis team lost a hard-fought non-conference competition against Cedarville University on Tuesday, in a matchup which saw multiple Barons drop close second singles sets.

Under cloudy skies which threatened rain earlier in the day, the Barons took the courts just after 3:30 p.m. Quality competition kept the Barons on their toes early on all three courts. Despite consistent serving from freshman Jack Galla, he and No. 3 doubles partner senior David Freytag found them on the short end of an 8-2 defeat. In the loss, the senior captain nevertheless finished volleys well at the net, an encouraging demonstration as conference playoffs loom.

Juniors Jarek Sulak and John Gallagher were largely inconsistent through their first seven games at No. 1 doubles, which saw them down 5-2. Behind a Gallagher hold and a service break, the Barons crawled back to 5-4. From there, untimely Cedarville momentum stole the match from Franciscan, when despite improved volleying from Sulak, the duo lost 8-4.

Sophomore RJ Watson's service consistency gave the No. 2 doubles team life early in their match. Alongside junior partner Connor Jooste, the pair appeared likely to work themselves back into the match after an early deficit. They were simply outlasted by the more consistent opposition and went down 8-0.

Down 3-0 after doubles, the Barons nevertheless pushed their respective Cedarville counterparts to the limit in singles play.

At No. 5 singles, Jooste played one of the matches of the afternoon. After losing the first set 6-3, the junior improved his groundstroke consistency in the second, taking a 4-1 lead. He threatened to take the set behind shot variation and net dominance before he was plagued by inconsistency on both his forehand and backhand sides. Despite the effort, he lost the set 7-5, and the match.

Up the hill at No. 6 singles, Galla lost a quick first set 6-1. In the second set, he cut down on double faults in his own service games and his score tightened to reflected his improved style of play. Galla kept the ball to his opponent's backhand and capitalized on his inconsistencies, but late missed volleys kept the freshman from making the match a closer one. He lost the second set 7-5.

Gallagher played a strong match at No. 2 singles, capitalizing on the height of his opponent's slice backhands, in the processing a close 7-5, 6-3 match. Meanwhile, team captain Freytag faced tough opposition at the No. 3 spot. He started slowly in a 6-0 first set loss, before finding service consistency in a closer second set. He cut down on errors and improved his baseline footwork before the set went the Cedarville way, 6-4.

One of the last matches of the court, No. 1 singles player Jarek Sulak found a service and groundstroke consistency which eluded his doubles play. He dug deep after a 6-3 first set, forcing his opponent into a tiebreaker to decide the second. Despite successive massive serves that kept the tiebreaker close, he went down 7-4, giving his opponent the close 7-6 set.

Watson is hitting with perhaps the best backhand consistency he's displayed to date. He hung with a consistent No. 4 singles opponent despite early first and second set deficits. His 6-2, 6-0 score doesn't accurately reflect a number of balls the speedster was able to return balls deep into his opponent's backcourt, often despite a full sprint.

The Barons will take Easter break off before practices resume the following Monday. Their next match is the first round of AMCC Championships, on Saturday, April 22 at 3:30 p.m.