The South Dakota State men's tennis team was downed by Marquette 5-2 in Milwaukee on Saturday morning.
The Jacks struggled to get going early, losing all doubles matches and the team doubles point. Mateus Moreira and Lucas Pereira posted the closest decision, an 8-4 loss at No. 3.
"We came out extremely flat in doubles," head coach Michael Engdahl said. "By far the slowest and shy we have looked all year."
In singles, SDSU won two matches, but the Golden Eagles clinched the meet with wins at the top four singles spots.
Mateus Moreira won at No. 5 versus J. Varela Hernani, 7-6, 6-4. Lucas Pereira also won at No. 6, but needed a third-set super tiebreaker versus James Stark for the win.
"Mateus and Lucas played smart matches from start to finish and it showed in the end result," said Engdahl.
All Jackrabbit players scored games in singles. Parker Lawley lost by one break in each set at No. 3, and Henrique Pereira played within one break in the second set at No. 4.
The loss dropped SDSU to 0-4 on the young season, while Marquette upped to 3-1.
"I am proud of the way the guys responded in singles and did not back down or quit," Engdahl said. "We need to get better at playing an entire match and having the belief right away. We will get there and we are ready for action against a tough Bradley team tomorrow."
The Jacks are back in action tomorrow versus Bradley in Milwaukee.
The complete box score is available at the beginning of this article.
