CLEMSON, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb (13-4) men's tennis team battled nationally ranked competition on Monday afternoon but ultimately fell 4–1 to the No. 34 Clemson Tigers at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility.

Clemson secured the early advantage by claiming the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The Tigers opened with a 6–2 win over Boyd Schreiber and Kaua Cressoni on court one before sealing the point with a 6–3 decision against Alexandre Bergeron and Noah Zeiger at No. 2 doubles. The No. 3 doubles match featuring Johan Van Wijk and Graham Bourne was left unfinished at 4–4.

In singles play, Gardner-Webb found its breakthrough at the No. 5 position. Cressoni delivered a strong performance, defeating Clemson's Noah Lopez Cherubino in straight sets, 6–3, 6–1, to put the Runnin' Bulldogs on the scoreboard.

Clemson, however, held firm across the remaining courts. Viktor Markov earned a 6–1, 6–4 win over Bergeron at No. 1 singles, while Noa Vukadin posted a 7–5, 6–1 victory against Zeiger at No. 2. The clinching point came at No. 3 singles where Marko Mesarovic edged Schreiber in a tightly contested match, 7–6 (7–5), 6–4.

Two additional matches were still in progress when the contest was decided. Van Wijk had forced a third set against Henrik Bladelius at No. 4 singles after splitting the opening two sets, while Bourne was locked in a tight second set battle with Yannic Nittmann at No. 6.

The Runnin' Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, April 11 as they travel to Georgia to face off against Kennesaw State. First serve is set for 1 p.m.