LYNDONVILLE, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's tennis team dropped a tightly contested match against the Hornets of VTSU Lyndon Tuesday afternoon, falling 5-4.
 
The Spartans nabbed one doubles match at the second spot, with Tanner Ciufo and Remy Maynard blanking the second pair for the Hornets, 8-0, to give Castleton its first point of the match. Miki Almirall and Valero Echegoyen faced a tough pair at the first spot, falling 8-1. The Spartans forfeited the match at the third spot, giving the Hornets their second point of the match.
 
In singles play, Almirall notched a thrilling three-set tiebreaker victory 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9) at the top spot, and Echegoyen earned a win at the fourth spot in straight sets to give the Spartans two more points. Dylan Shiland earned a victory at the fifth spot by retirement, giving Castleton their final point of the day. The Spartans fell in straight sets at the second and third spot and forfeited at the sixth spot, giving the Hornets their fifth point of the day, and the match victory.
 
The squad will host Norwich tomorrow (April 23) for a non-conference match-up, and the Spartans first outdoor home match of the season, set to start at 3 p.m.