No. 53 Oregon men’s tennis (13-6, 4-4 Big Ten) put up a valiant fight for the entirety of its match against the No. 45 Michigan Wolverines (8-9, 4-5 Big Ten). Three out of Oregon’s six singles players won at least five games in their first two sets, but that only proved enough for one of them.

“Michigan played really well,” Matthew Burton said. “We just came out a bit slow. I know we’ll bounce back.”

Both teams fought hard in doubles, but Michigan came out on top 2-1.

Vlad Breazu and Declan Galligan trailed early in their match and were never really in it. They finally got on the board after falling behind 5-0, but had nothing more as they were defeated 6-1. Cameron Burton and Lachlan Robertson had a back and forth match to start, but they eventually pulled ahead with a four-game run to win 6-2. Matthew Burton and Pierre Mouesca were also in a tightly contested match. They traded games with their opponents for the first four, before falling behind 4-2. Burton and Mouesca continued to battle, but came up short 6-4.

Breazu had a rough day against the No. 10 singles player in the country in Max Dahlin. He fell behind in his first set and couldn’t really fight back, losing 6-2. Breazu couldn’t get much going in the second set either as he was defeated 6-1 to conclude his match.

Sam Olszakowski was trailing in his first set. He showed a little fight, but still lost 6-3. He struggled again in his second set and was defeated 6-2 to end his match.

Matthew Burton had a comfortable lead in his first set as he eased his way to a 6-2 victory. His second set was a lot closer and went to a long tiebreaker, but he still had the upper edge to win 12-10 and give Oregon its first point of the match.

“The boys kept pumping me up,” Burton said. “Every time I looked to my side, I knew the boys were behind my back and I had to just keep fighting.”

Robertson also had a very close first set that was in a 5-5 tie, but he was defeated 7-5. His second set was another tight one, and this time he came out on top 6-4 to force a third set, which would go unfinished.

Cameron Burton’s first set was very tight as well. It was still tied at six to force a tiebreaker, where Burton came out on top 7-3 to claim the first set. He struggled in his second set and could never put up a fight, losing 6-2. His third set would not be finished.

Mouesca went back and forth with his opponent and they were still tied at five before his opponent rose to a 7-5 win. His second set was another close one, but Mouesca fell short once again 7-5 as the Wolverines claimed the match.

The Ducks return to action on Sunday when they host the Michigan State Spartans at noon.