Box Score (PDF)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The George Mason University men's tennis team fell in its spring season opener to regional power Virginia Tech on Monday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.

Mason looks to challenge itself during the early portion of the non-conference slate as the Patriots hope to gain valuable experience for its young and talented team.

The Hokies prevailed 7-0 in Monday's affair, but the match gave head coach Jimmy Davis a first look at his team as it begins its four-month development which peaks at the A-10 Championship in late April.

"The guys battled hard today but fell to a really strong Virginia Tech team," Davis said. "I'm happy with what I saw from our young guys and the older guys continued to lead the team strong at the top of the lineup. I'm excited for the potential this team has and we have lots of things to improve on in the next couple of weeks to take us to the next level as a program."

Mason dropped first and third doubles, but the No. 2 duo of junior Ryan Charles and freshman Rithik Sardana were locked in a tight match as the doubles point was clinched. Charles and Sardana trailed 3-4 at the time of the clinching point.

Sardana also performed well in singles while going three sets against Brandon Perez. After dropping the first set, 6-1, Sardana rebounded nicely to win 6-4 in the second. He fell in a tight 6-4 frame to close out the match.

Elsewhere, senior and returning first team All-A-10 selection Edward Ayers dropped a competitive match to Henrik Korsgaard (6-4, 6-3) at No. 1, while No. 2 Jakob Nielsen dropped a two-set contest to Mitch Harper (6-3, 6-3).

Norwegian Herman Jentoft saw the first action of his Mason career at No. 5 singles, while Rishab Sardana (No. 4) and Faisal Alrebdi (No. 6) filled out the lineup for the Green & Gold.

Mason now takes a bit of a competitive hiatus before returning to action Feb. 7 with a match at Mary Washington (1 p.m.).

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