THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - For the first time in nearly two weeks, the Cal Lutheran men's tennis team stepped on the courts for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match. To kick off the first official day of spring, the Kingsmen clawed past the Chapman Panthers, 5-3, at the Poulson Tennis Center.

Playing for the third time this week in the middle of a six-match stretch, the Violet and Gold showed early jitters, going down 2-1 in doubles before coming back more confident and accurate in singles action to come-from-behind for the win.

Although Moises Cardenas and Jesse Knight swept past Justin Thompson and Hunter Morris 8-0 in No. 1 doubles, the other two matches went in favor of Chapman as the visiting Panthers took an early advantage.

The first singles point came from Cal Lutheran's Gio Valdez in 6-0, 6-3 fashion against Brett Buford at No. 3 to even the team tally.

After CU took the match on court No. 4, Cardenas put a win in the book on the first court, defeating J. Thompson 6-0, 6-3. Knight came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 against Morris and get the fourth CLU point of the day. In a third set tiebreaker, senior Andrew Slater got the fans excited and went on to steal his match at No. 6 by a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 margin over Sam Mitteldorf to clinch the 'W' for the Kingsmen.

With the decision already made and a tough upcoming slate for both squads, the coaches and players decided to call the match at No. 2, leaving the team total one point short of a complete match.

Cal Lutheran (6-7, 2-2 SCIAC) has a quick turnaround, returning to competition tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, for a pair. CLU first takes the court at 9:30 a.m. when the Kingsmen host Skidmore (N.Y.) before facing Pacific Lutheran at 4:00 p.m.

Results: CLU 5, CU 3
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