MEMPHIS - The Rhodes College men's tennis team suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Division I Tennessee State in a heart stopping 5-4 match on Saturday morning at Dunavant Tennis Courts.

Rhodes got off to a great start, taking a 2-1 lead after taking the doubles point. The team of seniors Albert Vacheron and Daniel Olivier were victorious at No. 1 doubles, 8-5, while the team of freshmen P.J. Shaw and Phil Lauture were victorious at No. 3 doubles, 8-5.

In singles competition, Tennessee State began to creep back into the match, but Rhodes would take a 4-3 lead thanks to wins at No. 1 singles by Vacheron, 6-3, 6-1, and No. 2 singles by freshman Andrew Morton, 6-1, 6-0.

However, the Tigers scored the next two points, winning a thrilling three set match at No. 3 singles and clinching the match at No. 6 singles despite Shaw fighting off multiple match points.

Rhodes falls to 8-1 on the season and will prepare to hit the road for their spring break trip in Orlando, Fla. They open things up with a doubleheader on Tuesday as they take on Clark at 9 AM and Coe at 3 PM.