HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The University of Mount Olive men's tennis team battled toe-to-toe with nationally ranked competition Thursday afternoon, ultimately falling 4-2 to No. 13 Fairmont State Falcons during spring break play in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The match featured tightly contested battles across doubles and singles, with several contests decided by narrow margins as the Mount Olive Trojans pushed the nationally ranked Falcons throughout the afternoon.

Fairmont State claimed the doubles point after winning two of the three matches, both in tiebreak fashion. At No. 1 doubles, Kristoffer Dalbak and Bram Poel battled in a back-and-forth contest before falling 7-6 to Noah Liedtke and Kusunoki Haruto. The No. 2 doubles matchup was equally close, as Rasmus Grindheim and Niklas Gruenefeldt dropped a 7-6 decision, with the Falcons winning the tiebreak 7-3.

Mount Olive secured its lone doubles victory at the No. 3 position, where Philip Peter Carstensen and Luke Oosthuizen defeated Mohamed Mostafa Moens and Gustavo Masu, 6-3.

The Trojans responded well in singles play, winning two matches while Fairmont State secured three. At No. 1 singles, Dalbak delivered a strong performance with a straight-set victory over Liedtke, 6-2, 6-2.

Mount Olive earned its second singles win at No. 3 as Gruenefeldt defeated Keagan Karungagaran, 6-3, 6-2.

Fairmont State secured the remaining singles points in tightly contested matches. At No. 4 singles, Gabriel Masu edged Grindheim in a three-set battle, 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (10-8). Another close contest followed at No. 5 singles, where Moens defeated Carstensen, 6-0, 6-7 (8-6), 1-0 (10-7).

Mount Olive continues its spring break slate in Hilton Head as the Trojans prepare to face the West Virginia State Yellow Jackets on Friday at 8:30 a.m.