COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's tennis team lost its home opener to Saint Anselm College, 7-2, on Tuesday in the Tarrant Recreation Center during Northeast-10 Conference play. The Purple Knights, who last competed on Feb. 22, are 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the league. The Hawks improved to 1-5 and 1-5.

All three Saint Michael's doubles tandems lost by narrow counts, and the hosts went into singles trailing by a 3-0 score. Juniors Sam Laves (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Brady) and Charlie Merry (Kennebunkport, Maine/Kennebunk) fell 8-6 at No. 2, while sophomores Tyler Lucey (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) and Hayden Steward (Hamilton, Mass./Pingree School) suffered a setback by that identical 8-6 margin in the third position. Senior Billy Wood (Wayne, Pa./Home Schooled) and sophomore Ben Lambert (Milford, N.H./Milford) teamed for an 8-5 loss at No. 1.

Four of the six singles matches either went to a third set or involved a tie-breaker, with the Hawks clinching the victory by claiming four matches. Merry was victorious by a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 decision at No. 2 before Steward ended the match with an 8-3 pro-set triumph in the sixth position. Wood battled to a narrow 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) loss at No. 1, while Laves lost 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 at No. 2. Lambert fell 6-4, 2-6, 10-4 in the fifth position.

The Purple Knights hit the road for their next three matches, beginning at defending NE-10 Championship titlist Southern New Hampshire University on Friday at 3 p.m. The Penmen qualified for the past three NCAA Tournaments.