The University of Hartford men's and women's tennis teams were bested by Hofstra on Saturday, with the men falling by a score of 4-3 and the women being bested 7-0.
 
On the men's side, the Hawks showed tremendous fight, putting together the closest match ever for Hartford against the Pride. Play started with singles, as Will Drumwright put the Hawks up 1-0 with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Niko Vulinovich at No. 2, but Hofstra took wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 to push the Hawks to the brink.
 
Harrison Max then finished off a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Zachary Chang at No. 6 to cut it to 3-2. Then, captain Luis Montes, who fell 7-5 in the first set at No. 5, came from behind with a 6-4 win in the second set and a 6-3 win in the third to tie the match at 3-3 and send it to doubles with the match on the line.
 
Hofstra took a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles, but the No. 2 doubles team of Dan Rombola and Jose Molina came out strong, winning two of the first three games on serve to take a 2-1 lead. But Hofstra took control and won the final five games to take the doubles point. The No. 3 doubles pair of Max and Jairus Baker delivered a strong comeback, cutting the deficit to 5-4 on serve after being down 4-1, but Hofstra earned the final point for a 6-4 victory.
 
"I was incredibly proud of our team's performance today," head coach Torr Terranova said. "We had so many guys play phenomenal tennis, but more than anything, they showed no quit all day long. They were proud to play for this team today, and it showed."
 
On the women's side, the Pride took a 7-0 win. Highlighting the day was the performance of Gianna Sabino at No. 6 singles, going three sets against Ria Shah, but falling by a score of 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
 
The teams will return to action on Saturday, March 12, when they head to Loretto, Pa., for matches against St. Francis University. The men will start play at 11 a.m. with the women following after.