LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama men's tennis team dropped a Gulf South Conference match to No. 30 Lee University by a 7-0 score, Friday afternoon from the Vaughan Tennis Complex. 

Prior to first serve, the Tigers honored their seniors: Lucas Hammond, Nuutti Jokinen and Jared Pierce. 

"This has been a great class to be a part of. This class was ranked as high as fifth in the nation. Seeing these athletes earn their degrees and having jobs lined up after graduation is special," said head coach Jeff Beaman. 

The Tigers fall to 6-11 and 4-4 in conference play, while the Flames, ranked 30th in the latest ITA Division II national rankings, move to 10-2 and 5-2. 

"We're playing our matches well, but we're not finishing when we need to. Today could have gone either way with the multiple tiebreaks we had. We need to learn as a team who we are as we get closer to the postseason," said Beaman. 

The Flames took two of three in doubles to get out to the 1-0 start. However, the Tigers avoided the sweep thanks to Lucas Hammond and Jacob Tapia (8-3) won their fourth in a row after defeating Francisco Faria / Filipe Krohn, 6-2. 

In singles, despite three points going to the deciding final set, the Flames captured each one to complete the sweep. 

No. 59 Hammond. after winning the first set over Francisco Faria, Lee's top singles player bounced back to win the next two to win the No. 1 point. It was a similar fate for Eita Ishikawa at the No. 3.

Wilson Igbinovia had back-to-back seven-point tiebreakers at the No. 2, but Wihan van der Merve, ranked 66th in singles, rallied to win both tiebreaks, 7-2 and 8-6. 

The Tigers will wrap up the home schedule on Monday with a non-conference battle with Spring Hill. First serve is set for 2 p.m. from the Vaughan Tennis Complex.