THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran men's tennis returned to the Poulson Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon, but came up short in a 5-2 loss to Occidental.

The Kingsmen (3-9, 0-4 SCIAC) found themselves in an early hole after dropping the doubles point, despite a strong showing from the pairing of Ethan Sherwood and Maxence Faniel at No. 1. The duo battled to a hard-fought 7-6 win in a tiebreak, but Oxy secured victories at No. 2 and No. 3 to take the early advantage.

In singles play, Cal Lu showed resilience with a pair of standout performances. Toki Adachi delivered a bright spot for the Kingsmen at No. 2, earning a convincing straight-set victory, 6-1, 7-5, to put the Kingsmen on the board.

Faniel added the second point in dramatic fashion at No. 4, grinding out a three-set win that was decided in a match tiebreak, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.

Several other matches proved competitive, including Carlo Drewelow's three-set battle at No. 5, but the Tigers ultimately held off the Kingsmen to secure the 5-2 result.

Cal Lutheran will look to bounce back on Thursday afternoon, hosting No. 22 Pomona-Pitzer at 3 p.m.