The Middlebury men's tennis team continued its spring break trip in California on Tuesday, falling by a narrow 4-3 score to Division II Azusa Pacific at the Munson and Bavougian Tennis Complex. The second-ranked Panthers (7-2) have a day off before returning to action on Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. eastern match at 14th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer.

Following Division II rules where you must win two of the three doubles matches to earn the point, the No. 3 Cougar tandem posted a 6-2 victory. Middlebury's second duo of Noah Farrell and Peter Martin leveled recorded a 7-6 (3) win against Ryan Nuno and Leyton Bohren, while the Panther team of Lubomir Cuba and Nate Eazor earned the point via a 7-6 (5) victory over Jesse Haas and Jakob Schnaitter in the No. 1 position.

During singles action, Azusa Pacific (16-1) knotted the match at 1-1 with a straight-set win at No. 3. Andre Xiao put the Panthers back on top with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Bohren in the fourth spot. The Cougars tied the match at 2-2 behind a win at No. 5.

Eazor gave Middlebury a narrow 3-2 advantage, battling back after dropping the first set for a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 win at the bottom of the lineup against Marnix Pluim.

Azusa Pacific earned hard-fought three-set victories at No. 1 and No. 2 to secure the third and fourth points, earning the 4-3 triumph.