MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Saturday, Milligan men's and women's tennis began their spring slates at the Mathes Tennis Center against NCAA DII Lees-McRae College. After hard fought competition on both sides, Milligan's squads both fell by 4-3 final tallies.

Men's BOX SCORE | Women's BOX SCORE

The Buffaloes' men swept the three doubles matchups, with Michal Curlej and Phil Schollhorn taking a 7-6 (7-1) win in the No. 1 matchup, before Brayden Kennedy and Tomas Tenil teamed up for a 6-4 win in the No. 2 battle. Martin Mercarder and Bryant Morales also nabbed a win, dominating their opponents, 6-1.

The singles competition began with Curlej dropping a tough three-set match by a 6-4, 1-6, 0-6 final. Mercarder held the No. 2 slot and fell 0-6, 2-6, while Schollhorn also lost in three sets by a final of 2-6, 6-4, 4-6. Tenil was Milligan's first singles winner in the No. 4 matchup, taking a 6-4, 6-1 victory. The one matchup that was a massive swing against MU was the No 5 singles tilt, in which Kennedy took a 6-1 win in the first set, but then fell 7-6 in a tiebreak before falling 6-4 in the final set. Enzo Bardin fell behind after dropping his first set 6-3, but he then rattled off two 6-2 wins in a row to take the No. 6 bout.

Milligan took two of the three doubles tilts, earning the point with a 6-2 win from Parker White and Madison Berry in the No. 2 match, as well as a 6-2 triumph by Laurel Rich and Tara Stewart in the No. 3 battle.

In the No. 1 matchup, Lee Anne Endler fell 5-7, 0-6 for the Buffs. Melissa Duarte then fell in the second tilt by the same score. Stewart's 2-6, 0-6 loss came in the No. 3 matchup, before White notched Milligan's first women's singles win. She outdueled her opponent to the tune of a 6-3, 6-1 win. Berry followed suit in match No. 5, compiling a 6-2, 6-1 triumph. Rich would drop the No. 6 match, 1-6, 1-6.

Next weekend, the two squads will play in Pulaski, Tenn. at the University of Tennessee – Southern. They will match up with the Bethel University (Tenn.) Wildcats on Friday, Feb. 20, before facing off with the hosts on Saturday, Feb. 21.