Houghton College battled hard Friday afternoon against Grove City College, but fell short with a final score of 7-2. Despite the loss, Houghton picked up some strong victories during the day against a solid opponent. 

The Highlanders would get off to a rocky start losing all three doubles points to start the match. All three pairings lost in identical 8-4 scores. The exhibition pairing of Noah Harley and Graham Cook would pick up an 8-2 victory at fourth doubles to give the Highlanders some life. Transitioning into singles play, Houghton would find some more success. Adam Brown picked up his first singles win of the year with a decisive 6-2, 6-4 victory at the sixth spot. The other victor of the afternoon was Levi Webb who not only came back from a set down, but saved 5 match points in the third set tiebreaker. Webb, stayed calm, cool, and collective picking up a strong 2-6, 6-3, 12-10 win. 

"The men played well today despite the lopsided scoreline" Head Coach Zach Shilvock said. "We were right there in doubles on all 3 courts, but just couldn't fight back after mid-set breaks. I am very proud of Adam and Levi for pulling out big wins against quality players. Particularly in Levi Webb, it shows some real heart and mental strength to fight off 5 match points. Although we would have liked the win today, this young team is learning a lot from these challenging non-conference matches, and I am excited to see us keep growing throughout this Spring." 

The men will take the weekend to recover and will get back into action Tuesday against Penn State Behrend 4:30pm in Houghton.