CLEVELAND - On Sunday, the Franciscan men's tennis team traveled to Cleveland to take on Case Western Reserve, in a 12:30 p.m. matchup that saw the Barons fall 9-0.

At the No. 2 doubles spot, seniors Connor Jooste and John Gallagher briefly found a rhythm during the pro set's early stages. The pair returned serve well, and broke back to level the match at 1-1 after Gallagher's serve was broken to open the match. However, Case Western rattled off seven straight games to steal the matchup, and quickly sealed their first match win of the afternoon.

No. 3 doubles soon followed suit, though freshman Luke Conrad and junior Jack Galla competed well on the third court. Their Case Western counterparts found opportunities to close at the net, and the Barons couldn't fight their way back into the match. 

It was somewhat of a different story at No. 1 doubles, where sophomore Jake Haffner and senior Jarek Sulak accrued a quick 3-0, largely behind Sulak's service returns, and expert net play from Haffner. The Barons kept things close down the stretch, holding Sulak's serve to stay in the match at 4-5, after losing three out of four games. Eventually, Case Western pulled away for the 8-4 win, despite solid play from the captain and Haffner. 

Down 3-0 after doubles play, the Barons took to their courts for singles. Luke Conrad got on the board at No. 5 singles, losing 6-0, 6-1 after sustaining lengthy rallies on the fifth court. 

After Sulak went down 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles and Haffner fell on the short end of the same score at No. 1 singles, Gallagher put up a fight in the second set of his 6-1, 6-4 loss at No. 3 singles. The senior dug deep to reel off two games down 5-2, but was unable to break serve and stay in the competition.

Elsewhere, Jooste fell 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 5 singles spot, and Galla couldn't find a rhythm at No. 6 singles, losing by the same score.

After the loss, non-licensed athletics visionary Stephen Bolster said he "saw some great points out there today."

The Barons have a week of practice between Sunday's loss and their next match: the look to take another conference matchup when they face Mt. Aloysius College on Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m.