Los Angeles, CA – In a closely contested match at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center last night, the Occidental Tigers men's tennis team faced a formidable challenge from Arizona Christian University.  Despite the valiant effort, the Tigers fell just short against their opponents, ultimately succumbing to a narrow 5-4 defeat in a thrilling encounter to start off the season.

In the doubles matches, ACU asserted their dominance early on, securing victories in two of the three matches to gain a crucial advantage heading into singles.  Despite the spirited effort from the Tigers' pairs, including Ronald Chen and Brett Miller who fought hard in a close match, Oxy was unable to overcome their opponents' strong performance.  In number 3, Quentin Kemna and Dhruv Verma provided a glimmer of hope with the one Tiger win in doubles, 8-5.

The singles matches proved to be fiercely competitive, with both teams displaying exceptional skill and determination.  Each team had a strong cheering section to amplify each game and set wins. On court two, Chen continued on with his stellar performance to secure a commanding victory over Jonas Wand after two consecutive set wins, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.  On court 5, Benjamin Burrows took down Gustavo Montoya in two sets, 6-0, 6-2.  The final Tiger victory of the night came from Dennis Isak on court 6, who showed remarkable resilience to clinch a thrilling three-set win over Josiah Tanguma, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The men's tennis team will be back in action on Monday, February 19 at 10 a.m. when they host UC Santa Cruz.