GREENSBORO, N.C. - In a battle between two of the top teams in the ODAC, the Bridgewater College Eagles slipped past the Guilford College Quakers, 5-4, to pick up a key early-season victory Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles were picked No. 2 in the ODAC preseason poll with the Quakers close behind in the No. 3 spot.

Doubles play set the stage for a tense, tight contest with the Quakers taking two of the three doubles matches.

Bridgewater earned the first point when Freddie Roberts and Nathaniel Horner edged Levi Bruff and Aaron Smedley, 8-6, to win at No. 3 doubles.

The Quakers evened the match when Tate Godwin and Mesa Martorell held off Kyle Hartfield and Joe Dillenbeck, 8-5, to win at No. 1.

Guilford took a 2-1 lead when Chasen Chacon and Graham Pearson took a hard fought 9-8 victory at No. 2 doubles over Thomas Rishcoff and Emmett Johnson , winning the tiebreaker 8-6.

Bridgewater evened the score at 2-2 when Rishcoff opened singles play with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 win over Smedley at the No. 3 slot.

The Eagles moved ahead when Horner took a straight set 6-2, 6-1 verdict over Bruff at No. 5, but the Quakers evened the match at 3-3 when Jon-Anthony Thomas downed Bridgewater's Roberts 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) at the No. 4 singles slot.

Bridgewater clinched the contest by winning the top two flights as both matches went to three sets.

Hartfield stopped Godwin at No. 1 singles, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Dillenbeck downed Martorell at No. 2 singles in a match featuring two tiebreakers. Dillenbeck won the first set 6-3, but lost the second set 7-6 (7-4). The third set also went to a tiebreaker with Dillebeck holding on for the victory 7-6 (7-5).

Guilford's final point came at No. 6 singles in another three-set affair. Bridgewater's Johnson won the first set over Mason Church 6-4, but Church evened the match by taking the second set 6-4. A tiebreaker was played to determine the winner with Church prevailing 10-6.