RUTLAND, Vt. – The Castleton men's tennis team took on in-state rival NVU-Lyndon Saturday afternoon, piecing together three singles wins before falling 6-3 to the Hornets at Vermont Sport & Fitness.
 
The Spartans (0-3) kept each of their opening doubles matches close, but were swept on first, second and third courts to give NVU-Lyndon the early 3-0 lead. The afternoon's singles matches, however, were a different story, with Castleton claiming victory in three of six contests.
 
Jason Lipscomb got the day started on third singles, beating Jeffrey Blais in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2 to earn Castleton their first win of the afternoon. First and second singles both went to three sets before Phil Kluge and Connor Davis came up just short, with Kluge falling 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 before Davis suffered a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 defeat to put the Hornets up 5-1.
 
Fifth singles ended after one set, with NVU-Lyndon's Garrick Webster besting Miguel Almirall Perez 7-5 with Webster claiming the 10-7 tiebreaker to give the Hornets the team victory, before the day ended with consecutive Spartan wins.
 
Dante Buttino earned his first collegiate win in dominating fashion, beating NVU-Lyndon's Quin Peer in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. The freshman's win was followed up by a commanding win from Ugo Roik, who beat Bobby Saba 6-3, 6-0 for his first win of the season and handing Castleton their third on the afternoon.
 
The Spartans will look for their first win of the season when they take on NVU-Johnson Sunday, March 27, with the opening match set for 1 p.m.