ST. BONAVENTURE, NY -- The Alfred University men's tennis team opened the spring season against Penn State Behrend in a 5-2 loss Tuesday night.

"The guys fought hard and played like a team the entire time. They supported one another for the entirety of the match and fought for every point," Head Coach Jake Fisler said. "I am proud of the effort and determination that they had. We didn't get the result we wanted but this is a good first test to start off the spring season."

First-year player Ricardo Alvarez Janik (La Orotava, Spain/Colegio Casa Azul) started his collegiate career brilliantly to lead the Saxons. He won both his individual match and his dual match with Breece Erickson (Goshen, IN/Bethany Christian) 7-6 with a 7-4 tiebreak.

Erickson also won his individual match in two sets by scores of 6-2 and 6-4. George K. Fearon (Union Springs, NY/Union Springs) also battled in his individual match by forcing a tiebreak in the first set.

The team will look to find its footing and get rolling with the next three matches taking place in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The first one on Monday, March 10 against Baldwin Wallace University gets going at 1:00 p.m.