Bridgewater Va.- On March 22, the Bridgewater men’s tennis team had a hard-fought loss against Randolph College causing their record to drop to 2-7.

At the start of the match, the Eagles took a 2-1 lead. Senior Noah Hughes and sophomore Matthew Leonard cruised to an 8-1 triumph on court two, while junior Bryce Cline and freshman Ryan Briggman battled to an 8-6 victory on court three.

“Man, after we went up, I was feeling good, especially after we beat them 8-1,” said Hughes. 

Hughes was the first player off the court in singles action after winning 6-0 in just over 30 minutes. At the No. 3 place, sophomore Mark Gordon joined Hughes in the win column with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. 

Leonard lost the first set 6-0 on court two and found himself with his back to the wall early in the second set, but he was able to claw his way back into the match before succumbing 6-4.

Cline won the first set 6-4 but dropped the second 6-3, forcing a third set, but was defeated 1-6 in the third set.

Briggman was embroiled in a struggle on court five with the match at 4-4 after junior Gabe Elder succumbed in straight sets at the top slot. The first-year dropped the first set in a tiebreaker 6-7(6), but recovered with a late break of service in the second set to equal the match 6-4.

Briggman went behind 3-0 early in the final and trailed 1-5, 30-30 before rallying and winning the next two games. Briggman’s comeback effort, however, fell short, losing 3-6.

“It was tough losing to Randolph, especially since we started off so hot, but it is okay because the season still has a long way to go. We’ll turn it around,” said Elder. 

As they fall to Randolph, the Bridgewater men’s tennis team is currently sitting at 2-7, with yet to win any away matches. They are 1-3 in conference play, are also on a two-game losing streak as of March 28, and will look to turn the season around as they dive deeper into their season.

Preview for Next Matchup 

The Bridgewater men’s tennis team’s next match will be against Washington & Lee on March 28 at 3 p.m. 

Washington & Lee are currently 10-4 on the season and 6-0 when it comes to conference play. However, all of Washington and Lee’s losses have been at home, going an even 4-4 on the season.