LEWISTON, Maine — No. 29 Bates dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 4 Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon at Merrill Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (3-7. 1-4 NESCAC) came out on the wrong side of a tightly contested doubles point, with both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles decided by identical 7-6 scores. Bowdoin secured the early edge with wins at the top two positions, while Nicolas Ozer and James Sacco provided a response at No. 3 doubles with a 7-6 victory of their own.

In singles, Bowdoin (8-2, 3-0 NESCAC) extended its lead with straight-set wins at No. 6 and No. 1 to move within a point of clinching. Theo Sardain delivered the highlight for Bates at No. 3 singles, rallying from a 1-5 deficit in the third set to earn a 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 victory.

Several other matches pushed deep into third sets. At No. 5, Ozer claimed the first set and held two match points before Bowdoin's Simon Catanzaro came back to take the match, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5. Eric Diop also battled at No. 2, but Bowdoin's Kiran Garapati closed out a 6-3, 7-5 win to help secure the match.

Bates returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Colby at 1 p.m.