Haines City, Florida - The 17th-ranked Trinity men's tennis team split its matches Tuesday, beating 14th-ranked Case Western Reserve (OH) University of Division III, and then was edged by Merrimack (MA) College of Division II.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Tigers defeated Case Western 6-3 in the first match of the day, then lost a narrow 4-3 decision to Merrimack in the second match.

Trinity took two out of the three doubles matches with Case Western, beginning with Wilson Lambeth and Jordan Pitts taking the #1 match 8-6.

Wilson Hamilton and Christian Settles battled back from a 7-3 deficit to squeak out an 8-7 (5) at line two doubles.

Case Western took the final doubles match and then tied things up 2-2 by winning at line six to start singles.

The Tigers then got on a roll and clinched the match with three straight singles wins. Lambeth got things started with a win at line two, followed by Jace Akagi-Okuma making it a 4-2 match with a win at #5 singles. Pitts clinched from the top line and all three Trinity players won in straight sets.

Case Western broke up the Tiger streak with a win at line three, but Cameron Krimbill closed out the match by winning the #4 line in a three-set battle for Trinity.

In the final match of the day, Merrimack won the doubles point by taking two of three matches. Akagi-Okuma and Tilden Oliver won the third doubles line.

After Merrimack took a 2-0 lead with its #1 singles win, Oliver got the Tigers on the board by capturing the line four matchup.

Trinity came up short in a three-set loss at line two, but Akagi-Okuma rallied to win the final two sets that made it a 3-2 deficit.

The match was clinched with a narrow win for Merrimack at #5 singles, but Artur Zigman closed out the match by winning #6 singles in three sets.

NOTABLES

Trinity stands at 6-8 overall and is 5-2 against Division III opponents. Case Western dropped to 9-4 and Merrimack evened its record to 5-5.

Wilson Lambeth and Jordan Pitts stand at 10-3 as a doubles team, while Wilson Hamilton and Christian Settles are 7-3.

Artur Zigman is sporting a 4-0 singles record.

UP NEXT

The Tigers conclude their trip Friday with two DIII matches in Orlando, Florida, facing off against 13th-ranked Kenyon (OH) College at 3:00 p.m. EDT, and meeting Hampden-Sydney (VA) College at 7:00 p.m.