Houghton College men's tennis team dropped a tough match 8-1 against Daemen College on Friday afternoon. The Highlanders were looking to rebound quickly after a loss on Wednesday, but could not get their feet underneath them in the early going. All three double pairings fell with identical 8-2 score lines.

    Houghton transitioned into singles play down 0-3, but determined to put up a strong fight. The lone win of the day came at 6th singles where Ben McKay played an extremely close first set where he edged his opponent in the tie breaker 11-9. From there, he continued his success taking the match with a final score of 7-6 (11-9), 6-3 for his first ever win as a seeded Highalnder. At 4th singles, Matt Cicero battled back from a set down but eventually came up short in the deciding third set super tiebreak, 2-6, 6-4, 1-10.

    "Today was a tough day," Head Coach McGraner explained after the match. "Ben pulled out a really great win at 6th singles, and Matt put up a tough fight at 4th. Overall, we were not able to convert on opportunities that were available for the taking today. We've got a sizable break before our next match. It will be good for the guys to get some rest, recover, and time to practice so we are refreshed and ready to go for the second half of the season."

    The Highlanders will take an extended break and will come back entering conference play on April 9th to take on St. John Fisher College.