SYRACUSE, NY – Nathan Slattery (Nenagh, Ireland) won at both singles and doubles, but the Rider University men's tennis team fell in a tightly-contested non-conference match at Colgate, 5-2, Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Broncs fall to 2-11, while the Raiders are now 3-6.

Colgate squeaked out the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, including a 7-6 (7-4) decision at No. 3. Slattery paired with Jake Grimes (Atlanta, GA/Johnson Ferry Christian Academy) at No. 2 to defeat John Fazli and Aidan Chung, 6-4, at No. 2.

In singles, Slattery cruised to a 6-0, 6-1, win at No. 4 over Tejas Gupta, while Cooper Dillon (Brisbane, Australia/Laurel Springs) was also victorious at No. 6 over Mikey Weitz, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. But the Raiders would take the remaining four singles flights, including one three-set final, to claim the 5-2 victory. Roger Martinez (Girona, Spain/Saint George's School) won his first set, 6-0, before Ben Graham took the No. 3 flight with 7-6 and 6-4 wins in the second and third sets, respectively.

"We aren't competing with the right frame of mind right now, and we need to figure it out fast," said Rider Head Coach Tom Battaglia. "Season is winding down and conference is right around the corner. We build big leads and continuously blow them or find ourselves down 4-0 in a set only having to play catch up. It's disappointing because we are very talented, but when one person plays well another two don't, and we need to be on the same page." 

The Broncs return to action Saturday, when they continue play in Central New York at Binghamton. First serve is scheduled for 9 a.m.