MISHAWAKA, Ind. ---The Bethel University Men's Tennis Team fell 4-0 to No. 8 Holy Cross College on Monday, competing closely against one of the top programs in the nation.

The Pilots opened the day in doubles play, earning a win at the top spot as Dimitar Berdankov and Lukas Slivar secured a 6-4 victory at No. 1.

Holy Cross then responded by claiming the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, as Aidyn Batyrbekov and Santiago Flores fell 4-6 and Ostap Talama and Atanas Ivanov also dropped a 4-6 decision.

In singles play, several matches were tightly contested before being cut short. At No. 1, Dimitar Berdankov battled before falling 4-6, 3-2 (abandoned). Aidyn Batyrbekov pushed a close first set but fell 6-7(2), 1-6 at No. 2, while Atanas Ivanov dropped a 2-6, 4-6 match at No. 3.

Head Coach Jamal Henry shared, "We played really well today against another Top 10 team in Holy Cross. They are a great club, and a measuring stick of where you need to be to compete for a National Championship. I thought our energy was good today, and thought if we would have pulled out the doubles point, the momentum could have made this match a little tighter."

The Bethel Pilots will look for their next win on Wednesday, April 15 when they will face the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats on the road. First serve is set for 12 PM. 

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