CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College men's tennis team put forth a great effort Thursday afternoon, but the squad fell to Gardner-Webb 6-1 in its Big South Conference opener.

The Blue Hose (0-6, 0-1) were much closer than the score indicated against the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-0).

In the doubles competition, PC's tandem of Andrew Brigham and Zachary Sprouse swept Roman Piftor and Adam Kuntsson by an 8-0 score at the No. 2 spot. After Edward Snead and James Zaher lost an 8-2 decision to third-seeded Jeremie Tardif and Andrew Veeder, PC had a chance to take the double point at the top position.

Head coach Patric Hynes had Matt Martin and Ivan Ho matched up against Evgeny Slesarev and Rafael Altmayer to determine the winner of doubles play. After trailing by a 6-2 margin, Martin and Ho, backed by solid fan support, rallied back to even the match at 8-8. However, the Bulldogs were able to pull out the deciding point, winning 9-8.

In singles play, Martin and Slesarev continued their epic battle at the No. 1 slot. Slesarev managed a 7-6 win in the first set, but Martin stormed back for a 6-4 victory in the second set, forcing the tiebreaker. Slesarev emerged victorious 10-6 to take the point.

Brigham, who has played strong all season, was a straight set 6-2, 6-4, winner over Adam Knutsson-Sunblad at the No. 2 position.

Third-seeded Ivan Ho dropped a 6-2, 6-1, match to Andrwe Veeder while Snead lost a 6-1, 6-3, decision to Rafael Altmayer. Sprouse pushed Piftor in both sets, but lost a 6-3, 6-5, match.

In another tight contest, Ryan Walters took the first set from Tardif at the No. 6 spot. However, he lost the second set 6-4. Tardif won the tiebreaker 10-4, giving GWU the 6-1 win.

The Blue Hose will return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. as they host UNC Charlotte.