LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's tennis team put forth a valiant effort against the No. 3 nationally ranked Tufts University Jumbos on Sunday at Merrill Gymnasium, ultimately falling 5-2 in a NESCAC matchup. Despite the loss, the Bobcats secured an impressive victory at No. 1 doubles, along with wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, against one of the top teams in the nation.

The highlight of the day came in the No. 1 doubles match, where the Bates tandem of Phillippe Kosyagin and Theo Sardain delivered a thrilling performance to outlast Tufts' top duo of Javier Gonzalez and Vuk Vuksanovic. In a tightly contested battle, Kosyagin and Sardain came through in the clutch, emerging victorious with a 7-6 (7-4) tiebreak win. 

While Tufts (4-0, 1-0 NESCAC) claimed victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to secure the doubles point, Bates remained undeterred heading into singles play. The No. 4 singles match proved to be another standout moment for the Bobcats as Ben Adey fought through a grueling three-set contest to prevail over Tufts' Derin Acaroglu. Adey opened the match with a 6-2 win before dropping a 6-4 decision in the second. With the match on the line, Adey displayed unwavering composure in the super tiebreaker, triumphing 10-4 to earn Bates the point.

At  No. 6 singles, Tylan Ozkuzey defeated Tufts' Sacha Maes in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-4) for the first-year's second singles win of the weekend.

"We did a lot of good things today," said Paul Gastonguay '89, head coach of the Bobcats. "You can't take one point off against a team of this caliber (Tufts) and in a few spots today, we took our foot off the gas. However, our student-athletes figured out that they definitely belong at this level. We're going to get back to work this week and find a way to make improvements and get better."

Bates (3-5, 1-1 NESCAC) gets back at it Saturday at noon as the Bobcats welcome No. 10 nationally-ranked Williams to Merrill Gymnasium.