LEWISTON, Maine (October 13, 2019) – The Franklin Pierce University men's tennis team suffered a 7-2 defeat on the road on Sunday, in non-conference play at Bates.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-2, while Bates opens its season at 1-0.

Franklin Pierce picked up one of its two points on the day at first doubles, where senior Yuval Barak (Zicron Ya'akov, Israel) and sophomore Preston Gordon (Essex Junction, Vt.) notched an 8-6 win over Bates freshmen Leo Kupferman and Cameron Kania. Second and third doubles were competitive as well, with both going to Bates by 8-6 scores. At second doubles, junior Nkrumah Patrick (Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago) and freshman Joshua Arnold (Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago) fell to freshman Nick Forester and junior Alex Kennedy. At third doubles, freshmen Joel Cladera (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) and Alejandro Ortiz (Madrid, Spain) were defeated by senior Jacob Eisenberg and freshman Teddy Koide.

Franklin Pierce's second point of the day came at sixth singles. Freshman Paul McLellan (Nairobi, Kenya) locked horns with freshman Aaron Ramos and pulled things out in the tiebreaker set to notch a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9) victory. Fourth singles required a tiebreaker as well, with Bates picking up a grueling, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-8) win as Eisenberg prevailed over Arnold.

The Ravens return to the court on Wednesday, Oct. 16, when they travel to Post for a non-conference match at 1 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce tennis apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).