LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In its home debut, and in its tightest match of the season thus far, the Bellarmine University men's tennis team was edged 3-4 by Northern Kentucky on Friday at the Eddie Weber Tennis Complex.

Bellarmine (0-4) captured the doubles point against Northern Kentucky (1-0) after sophomore Cole Groetsch and junior Evan Bottorff defeated Jorge Rodriguez Agud and Emilien Burnel 7-5 at No. 1, and freshman Paul Reynolds and senior Ian Deiters upended Trevor Ball and Anderson McDowell 6-4 at No. 2.

Groetsch notched another win at No. 1 singles, besting Burnel in straight sets. Junior Sam Rueff rallied over Anderson McDowell at No. 6 for another Knights victory. Northern Kentucky, however, won Nos. 2-5 singles to secure the match, with two of those victories coming in three sets.

"It was a very close loss," Coach Will Davis said. "We have learned from this experience and hope it will help us in the future."

Bellarmine will host former GLVC rival Southern Indiana at 10:30 a.m. (ET) Saturday.

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