CINCINNATI, Ohio. — Bellarmine men's tennis engaged in a back-and-forth affair with Xavier on Friday night, and the Musketeers ultimately came out on top by a final score of 4-3.
 
The Knights got off to a strong start by taking the doubles point.  Brent Reynolds and Jack Batchelor teamed up for a 6-4 victory at the no. 2 spot, while Eli Wood and Xavier Ecarma claimed a 7-5 win at no. 3 doubles to lock up the point for BU.
 
In singles action, Eli Wood had the quickest victory of the day for Bellarmine in the no. 4 spot.  Wood topped Kyle Totorica 6-2, 6-3 for his third singles win of the spring.  Jorge Santamaria answered with victory at no. 6 singles for Xavier. 
 
The next match to finish was at the no. 3 slot which Cambell Nakayama won for the Musketeers to tie the team score 2-2.  At no. 2 singles, Deacon Thomas squeaked out a tight 7-5, 7-6 win over Jack Batchelor to give Xavier a 3-2 lead. 
 
Matthew nice evened the match once again with a three-set win over Ryan Cahill at no. 1 singles.  Nice beat Cahill 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to improve his spring singles record to a team-best 5-1.
 
The match ultimately boiled down to no. 4 singles, where Marco Pennelli and Xavier Ecarma were engaged in battle.  Pennelli took the first set 7-6 and claimed the second set 6-4 to give the Musketeers the 4-3 team win.

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