Taylor Battles RV Bethel in CL Opener

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor fell 7-0 to receiving-votes Bethel in the Crossroads League opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at the Taylor Tennis Complex.

The Trojans (3-5, 0-1 CL) showed fight in doubles, where two of the three flights went down to the wire against a Pilots squad featuring nationally ranked players. Graham Beukelman and Tyler Lane battled the 46th-ranked tandem of Lukas Slivar and Dimitar Berdankov at No. 1 before falling 7-5.

Joseph Harper and Matthew Williams matched that effort at No. 2, also dropping a 7-5 decision to Santiago Flores and Aidyn Batyrbekov. Josh Clegg and Andrew Roth competed at No. 3 in a 6-0 loss.

Lane delivered the most competitive match of the afternoon at No. 1 singles, taking the opening set 6-1 against No. 46 Berdankov. After dropping the second set 6-2, Lane forced a super tiebreaker and stayed within reach before falling 11-9 in the tightest individual contest of the day.

Harper went the distance at No. 2 singles, falling 6-4, 7-5 to No. 56 Batyrbekov in a match that stayed close throughout both sets. Beukelman dropped a 6-4, 6-3 result to Atanas Ivanov at No. 3.

Clegg, Williams and Roth each competed at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively, as the Trojans fell in straight sets across the lower flights.

Taylor returns to action Tuesday when it hosts No. 17 Grace at 3:00 p.m.