In a road match that went down to the wire, the Hillsdale College men's tennis team was bested by Davenport by the slimmest of margins in a 4-3 decision on Sunday.

Hillsdale took an early lead in the match, claiming the doubles point with a 6-3 victory by sophomores Ryan Papazov and Samuel Plys at No. 2 singles and a dominant 6-0 win by freshmen Patrick Cretu and Jackson Clements at No. 3 doubles.

That gave Hillsdale an edge heading into singles play, and the Chargers got two of the three wins they needed at No. 2 and No. 5 singles. Junior Henry Hammond rallied from a 7-5 first set loss to win the final two sets 7-5, 6-3, over the Panthers' Daniel Calver and take the point at No. 2 singles, while fellow junior Ellis Klanduch rolled to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Davenport's Reuben Bakkker at the No. 5 spot.

But the final victory proved elusive for the Chargers in the other four close matches. Hillsdale lost a tight one in three sets at No. 1 singles, and each of Davenport's victories at No. 3, 4 and 6 singles involved at least one 7-5 set. However, in the end, the Chargers ended up coming up short.

Hillsdale is now 3-3 overall and faces another stiff test this coming Saturday, as the Chargers return home to face nationally-ranked Wayne State in a match at 1 p.m. in the Biermann Athletic Center.