The West Liberty University men's tennis team dropped a pair of road matches over the weekend.
    Coach Ronnie Hulewicz's Hilltoppers came up just short in a 4-3 loss at Mercyhurst on Friday night before taking a 7-0 setback at NCAA Division I Cleveland State on Sunday.
    Friday's Mercyhurst match went down to the wire as the Hilltoppers took two of the three doubles matches to secure the doubles point but the Lakers rallied to take four of the six singles matches and steal the win.
    Roberto Esquivel and Nevio Dux teamed up for a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles with Joao Benvenutti and Derek Roehner delivering the doubles point with a 6-4 nod at No. 3 doubles.
    Esquivel rallied to a 6-2 2-6 2-6 win at No. 5 singles and Moritz Erpel won back-to-back tiebreakers at 6 and 4 to win at No. 1 singles but the four remaining singles matches all broke in favor of the Lakers.
    The host Vikings were in control throughout during Sunday's match in Cleveland. Cleveland State took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles and swept all six singles matches - five in straight sets - to finish off the win.
    Esquivel was the only Hilltopper to win a set against CSU. He opened his No. 5 singles match against Cole Chappell with a 6-2 win in the first set. Chappell evened the match with a 6-4 win in the second set before pulling out a 10-6 nod in the tiebreaker.
    The West Liberty men return to Mountain East Conference action on Saturday with a 5 p.m. match against Davis & Elkins at the Wheeling Park "Bubble."