LA MIRADA---The nationally-ranked No. 22 Biola men's tennis team fell 4–3 to Division III's top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday morning at the Biola Tennis Center.
The Eagles battled throughout the match but were unable to overcome an early deficit after Claremont-Mudd-Scripps secured the doubles point.
CMS clinched the doubles point with wins on the first and third courts. Pol Masafret Hernandez and Juan Vallejo won for Biola on the second court, 8-6 in the tiebreak.
CMS extended its lead early in singles with wins on first and fifth courts. Adam Large lost 2-6, 3-6 on court one and Mateo Rivas fell 4-6, 0-6 on court five.
The Eagles responded with three singles victories to keep the match close. Thiago Canessa earned a hard-fought win on court four, defeating his opponent 6–3 and 7-3 in the second set tiebreak. Keyon Gahvarehchi also delivered for Biola with a three-set battle on court six, winning 6–2, 3–6, 7–5.
Masafret Hernandez added another point for BU with a comeback victory on court two. After dropping the opening set in a tiebreak, Masafret Hernandez rallied to win the next two sets and secure the match (6-0, 6-4).
Despite the Eagles' effort, CMS clinched the team victory on court three.
The loss moves Biola to 7–1 on the season while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps improves to 10–0. The Eagles will look to bounce back in their next match on Tuesday, March 10th at 4:30 p.m.
