BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College men's tennis team fell to Roanoke 8-1on Friday evening at the Mapp-Whitelow Tennis Courts.

The Maroons opened by winning quickly at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles but Noah Hughes and Matthew Leonard tried to avoid the sweep at the No. 2 spot. The Eagles due got in front in the early stages but quickly found themselves behind 4-7. The pairing dug deep and won two quick games before fighting off three match points before forcing a tiebreak at 7-7. Hughes and Leonard got ahead 4-3 in the breaker but four straight points from the Maroons closed out the match 7-8(4).

Leonard dropped the opening set at the top spot 0-6 but battled back by taking the opening game in the second set and grabbed the opening game. The sophomore kept the set on-serve and forced a tiebreak in the frame. After falling behind 3-6 Leonard fought off a pair of match points before falling 0-6, 6-7 (5).

Gabe Elder dropped the opening set 2-6 but rallied jumping ahead 3-0 and taking the second set 6-3 to force a decider. The Charlotte, N.C. native fell behind 1-5, 0-40 in the third set before saving three match points and rallying to win the match 7-5. 

The Eagles finish off the regular season on the road at Shenandoah on Tuesday.