Men’s Tennis faced a challenging stretch of conference play this past week, dropping consecutive 7-0 matches to Young Harris College Mountain Lions, Emmanuel University Lions, and at Chowan in Conference Carolinas action.

Ferrum (6-7, 0-6) opened the road trip against Young Harris at the Bob & Gayle Nichols Tennis Complex, where the Mountain Lions (4-8, 1-3) set the tone early. Young Harris swept all three doubles matches to secure the opening point, though Brian Karenzi, first-year, and Sebastian Ondas, first-year, battled closely at No. 2 doubles before falling 7-5 to Mason Harmon and Nills Vercruyssen in a tightly contested match.

The energy carried into singles play, where Young Harris earned straight-set victories across all six flights to complete the sweep.

The Panthers looked ahead to their next matches but faced a tough opponent in Emmanuel. Playing at the Palmetto Tennis Center, the Panthers showed signs of resilience in doubles competition. Karenzi and Ondas secured the Panthers lone victory of the day, earning a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles over Henrique Castro and Murilo Martins.

Despite that effort, Emmanuel (13-3, 7-0) claimed two of the three doubles matches to take the early lead before sweeping all six singles matches in straight sets and pro sets to seal the team victory.

Ferrum closed the stretch at Chowan, where the Panthers continued to show signs of progress despite another tough result. The Hawks took control early by sweeping the doubles matches.

In singles play, Ferrum responded with two victories. Ondas battled through a three-set match at No. 2, outlasting Thales Sette 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in one of the day’s most competitive contests. Karenzi added another point for the Panthers with an 8-6 win at No. 5. Chowan, however, secured the remaining singles matches with a mix of straight-set and competitive victories to clinch the team win.

The Panthers will have another chance of redemption this Thursday at 2 p.m. at King University in Tennessee.