LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Division I Dayton defeated the Bellarmine University men's tennis team 5-2 on Friday at the Tennis Club at Springhurst.

Bellarmine (4-2) gained the doubles point against Dayton (5-6) after junior Evan Bottorff and freshman Paul Reynolds won 6-3 over Joe DeMarco and Connor Bruce at No. 1, and freshman Eli Franks and junior Sam Rueff tallied a 7-5 victory over Peter Schulteis and Jayman Jhattu at No. 3.

Freshman Emil Bjoerlykke Berglund notched Bellarmine's lone win in singles action, defeating Steven Karl 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2, but the Knights took two other matches to three sets.

"The team fought with heart, physicality and toughness," Knights Coach Will Davis said. "We lost a very close match against a good Division I team. It came down to two three-set matches. It could have gone either way. This match will give them confidence going forward for the rest of the season."

Bellarmine will travel to Northern Kentucky, another DI opponent, for a 5:30 p.m. contest Saturday. 

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