A shutout from the Biola Eagles’ men’s tennis team proved the highlight of the day as both the men and women played the Colorado Christian University Cougars. The women won two of their matches, but ended up losing 2-7. The men improve to 8-7, while the women drop to 4-11.

The women played first, earning one win in each of singles and doubles play. They started out in singles, where their only win came in the third position. Sophomore Brooke Sanford defeated her opponent 6-4 in the first set then got the shutout in the second set, winning 6-0. On the first court, junior Madeline Heer nearly took the match, losing the first 6-3, winning the second 7-5, then ultimately losing the tiebreaker third set 7-5.

In doubles, only Biola’s second team, composed of Heer and freshman Bailey McGeough, could overcome the Cougars and get the win.

The men had a much better result, as they earned the 9-0 match sweep. Play started with doubles, where the men made short work of each of their Cougar opponents. Singles play had a few close calls, especially the final match of the day, on the sixth court. Sophomore Michael Vartuli lost the first set 4-6 but won the second 6-3, forcing a 10-point tiebreak set. Vartuli fell behind early, as his opponent took a 7-3 lead. Vartuli battled back, and after a long exchange requiring extra points, Vartuli walked away with the 12-10 third set win, ensuring the complete shutout of the Cougars.

“When we got to singles, we battled extremely hard one through six and had a lot of wins,” said Joel Novick, assistant coach. “We’re really happy with the guys.”

Both teams were scheduled to play San Diego Christian University on March 19, but SDCU forfeited the match for both teams. This counts as a 9-0 shutout, and helps their records. The next time both teams play is on March 22 against University of the Southwest.