ORLANDO, Fla. -- Allegheny College men's tennis opened its spring break trip with a 6-1 setback to No. 24 Christopher Newport University on Monday at the U.S. Tennis Association's (USTA) National Campus in Orlando, Florida.

Facing a nationally-ranked opponent for the third time this spring, the Gators (5-4) were unable to upset 24th-ranked CNU (6-1). Although Allegheny only took one match point, multiple singles matches reached tiebreakers. 

In the third spot, senior David Rodriguez (St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College) played an extremely close match against Nesh Kumaresan. Kumaresan edged Rodriguez in the first set, 7-5, before needing a 9-7 tiebreaker to capture the second set. In the No. 5 match, freshman Zidaan Hassan (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) pushed Rainer Christiansen to a first-set tiebreaker in an eventual 7-6 (4), 7-5 loss.

Freshman Adam Memije (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) earned Allegheny's only victory in the No. 1 singles bout against Nathan Russell. Memije defeated CNU's top player in consecutive sets, 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles Results
1. Barrett Foster / Vincent Truong def. Levente Mihaly / Olivier Erkens, 6-3
2. Nesh Kumaresan / Gabe Smith def. Benedek Kaibas / Adam Memije, 6-2
3. Rainer Christiansen / Nathan Russell def. David Rodriguez / Zidaan Hassan, 7-5

Singles Results
1. Adam Memije def. Nathan Russell, 6-2, 6-4
2. Vincent Truong def. Levente Mihaly, 6-1, 7-5
3. Nesh Kumaresan def. David Rodriguez, 7-5, 7-6 (7)
4. Barrett Foster def. Olivier Erkens, 6-3, 6-1
5. Rainer Christiansen def. Zidaan Hassan, 7-6 (4), 7-5
6. Gabe Smith def. Benedek Kaibas, 6-3, 6-2

Up Next
The Gators will face Division II Michigan Tech and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 3, at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.