The University of Hartford men's tennis team was topped in a pair of hard-fought matches on Sunday, being defeated 4-2 by Sacred Heart and 4-0 by Connecticut in Fairfield.

"I was incredibly proud of how hard the men played today," head coach Torr Terranova said. "It's always hard playing against your rival, and SHU is our number one rival. Every year it is a back-and-forth, see-saw event. This year, Sacred Heart just played the big points better than we did. I was very proud of Dan [Rombola]  and Morgan [White] for their wins. Nick Sharwarko played like the senior co-captain he is, putting the team on his back and holding a lead in the third set. We can earn a lot from that loss and even though it leaves a bitter taste in our mouths, I know the players will use it to get better."

The Pioneers started with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 in doubles action to take a 1-0 lead. Then in the singles, the Hawks and Sacred Heart traded matches back-and-forth. The Pioneers earned a straight-set win at No. 1, then the Hawks returned the favor with a 6-4, 7-5 victory by Rombola over Matt Dean at No. 2. SHU got a win at No. 3 as well before White earned a 6-2, 6-4 win over Karan Narula at No. 6 to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Pioneers. But Sacred Heart clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 4 to take it 4-2. At No. 5, Sharwarko was leading Mathieu Pilote-Schraenen, 3-6, 7-5, 2-0 when the contest concluded.

In the afternoon, the Hawks put forth a strong effort against UConn. The Hawks were edged in a tight matchup in the doubles, then gave the Huskies all they could handle in singles play, going three sets in four of the six matchups.

"On paper we should not have been as competitive as we were," Terranova said. "The team showed up to play, and played with a lot of pride after a tough loss to Sacred Heart. We really pushed them in singles play, taking four of their guys to the third, but it was just too big of a deficit to overcome. It was the best we have played against UConn in my time here. We are going to get back to work tomorrow with some doubles and we will be ready for Fairfield on Tuesday."

Arnaud Valentin/Justin Warren got UConn out to a fast start with a 6-0 win over Montes/Max, but the top two doubles matches came down to the wire. The Huskies clinched the doubles point at No. 1 as Christopher Toner/Jacob Spreyer narrowly topped Sharwarko/Molina 6-4. When the point was clinched, the Hawks duo of Einstoss/Rombola held a 5-4 lead over Zac McEntee/Hank Hill at No. 2.

In singles action, Valentin made it a 2-0 Huskies lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Molina at No. 4, and Spreyer followed with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Einstoss at No. 2. But the other four matches were tightly contested. At No. 3, Parker Goldstein won the clinching point, but it took him three sets, emerging with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Sharwarko. Rombola held a third-set lead over Toner at No. 1 when the match was clinched, as did White over McEntee at No. 5. At No. 6, Max took the first set 7-6 over Hill and trailed 5-4 in the second when the match concluded.

The Hawks are back in action on Tuesday afternoon, when they will play host to Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at the Hartford Tennis Courts.