The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Tennis Team dropped their mid-week contest on the road to Belmont Abbey, 6-1.

Freshman Vadym Rogynskyi had a splendid outing in No. 2 singles as he was able to handle his opponent in a 6-3, 6-0 result.

The No. 2 doubles of Rogynskyi and Mauricio Hernandez also pulled out a thrilling 7-6 (5) victory, but unfortunately for the Bears, the Crusaders pulled out the point with wins in No. 1 and No. 3 doubles.

Despite dropping five of the six singles matches, the Bears put up some competitive fights, with three of the five they lost going to three sets.

At No. 1 singles, Zachary Cox went to the brink but couldn’t pull through in the final set with a 2-6, 6-1, 5-7 defeat. At No. 4 singles, Hernandez had to retire in the third set, trailing by only one game, while Joel Hemmings dropped his third set, which was a pro set, by the score of 6-10.

The Bears will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 18 with their conference opener against UVA-Wise on the road.