The Hope College men's tennis team dropped two matches on Saturday.
In the morning, the Flying Dutchmen put up a strong fight in a closely contested match against Carthage College (Wisconsin), but ultimately came up short, falling 4-3. In the evening, Hope lost a 7-0 decision to North Central College (Illinois).
Against Carthage, Hope opened the match with doubles play, claiming victories in two of the three matchups.
The No. 1 pairing of senior Austin Becksvoort (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian HS) and sophomore Ned Curley (Plymouth, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) fought hard but fell 6-2 to Carthage's Elios Briand and Myles Krzewinski.
The Flying Dutchmen found themselves in a tight battle at No. 3 doubles, where sophomore Paul Schneider (Fishers, Indiana / Hamilton Southeastern) and freshman Elliot Dozeman (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) emerged victorious, 7-5.
Hope tallied a second win at No. 2 doubles, where sophomore Rylan Doden (Fort Wayne, Indiana / Blackhawk Christian) and sophomore Cooper Nugent (Rochester, Michigan / Rochester Adams) came through in a tiebreaker, winning 7-6 (2) to give Hope some momentum heading into singles play.
In singles, Hope managed to pick up two victories but couldn't quite complete the comeback.
Nugent delivered a winning performance at No. 1 singles over Myles Krzewinski of Carthage, 6-2, 6-2.
Carthage's Francisco Silveira outlasted Curley at No. 2 singles to win 6-2, 7-5.
Elios Briand of Carthage earned the victory at No. 3 singles, topping Schneider 6-3, 6-1.
Doden pushed Cooper Ferruzzi to a second-set tiebreak but fell 6-1, 7-6(4).
Becksvoort battled hard at No. 5 singles but came up short, losing 6-1, 6-4 to Carthage's Cyriac Cayuela.
Patel fought through a tough second set, ultimately winning a 6-2, 7-5 decision over Carthage's Finnian Morris.
Against North Central, despite several close matches, the Flying Dutchmen were unable to overcome North Central's depth and consistency, suffering a sweep in both doubles and singles play.
Hope battled early in doubles action but ultimately dropped two of three matches. Schneider and Dozeman secured Hope's lone doubles victory at No. 3, winning 6-2 against Henry Ros and Justin Penados.
However, North Central responded by clinching the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.
Becksvoort and Curley put up a strong fight but fell 6-4 at No. 1, while sophomore Alec Maynard (Northville, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) and Nugent also lost by a 6-4 margin at No. 2, giving North Central an early 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
In singles action, Hope saw several matches go the distance but couldn't find a way to turn the tide.
Nugent nearly pulled off a comeback at No. 1 singles, rallying after dropping the first set but ultimately falling 6-4, 3-6, [10-7] in a tightly contested match against Ramon Vilarroig Martinez.
Doden also forced a decisive third-set tiebreak at No. 3 singles but fell just short, losing 6-7(6), 6-1, [10-7].
North Central controlled the remaining singles matchups, with Matt Sengphommachanh defeating Curley 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2, while Henry Ros secured a 6-2, 6-3 win over Schneider at No. 4.
Ignacio Hernandez Ruiz won at No. 5, winning 6-1, 6-1 over Becksvoort, and Philipp Wottgen closed it out with a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over freshman Karsten Patel (Birmingham, Michigan / Birmingham Seaholm) at No. 6.
Hope (2-6) will play next on Monday, March 17, in Orlando, Florida, against Coe College (Iowa) in the morning, and St. Lawrence University (New York) in the afternoon
