NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's tennis team opened a two-match road trip in Nashville, Tennessee Saturday evening and made a valiant comeback attempt after falling behind early, but ultimately fell to the Lipscomb Bisons, 4-3.

"They jumped on us early, and we got behind," stated head coach Mike Griffith. "Our guys made a huge attempt to comeback and win our second straight match, but their No. 2 singles player saved match point, which proved to be a big difference maker. We're looking to come out firing tomorrow and are excited for the challenge of facing a tough Belmont team."

The Bisons began the match by clinching the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Millen Hurrion and Adam Schmidt were leading at the No. 3 spot, 5-4, but the match went unfinished once Lipscomb clinched the point.

In singles play, Maximilian Scholl started things off for Gardner-Webb by knotting the score at one point a piece with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles. Lipscomb won the next two singles matches at the No. 3 and No.2 spots but had to save match point at No.2.

For the Runnin' Bulldogs, Hurrion, a freshman, played in the No. 2 singles position and fell in the first set, 6-1, before winning the second set 7-5. In the tiebreaker, the Bison's Victor Chaw prevailed, 7-6 (7). LU then won at No. 4 singles in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 to secure the victory.

GWU's Schmidt prevailed at No. 5 singles, while Ross Gilbert was victorious in the No. 6 position, but the Runnin' Bulldogs winning streak was snapped in the 4-3 defeat.

The loss drops Gardner-Webb to 1-3 overall, while Lipscomb improves to 1-1 on the season.

The Runnin' Bulldogs will return to action on Sunday afternoon for a 12:30 p.m. contest at Belmont University in Nashville. Following the contest with Belmont, the team will take a short break from action before playing its home opener on February 7th against USC Upstate.