SAN DIEGO– The Point Loma Sea Lions (8-9 overall) were just a point from capitalizing on an early lead, but ultimately fell to the Metropolitan State Denver Roadrunners (7-1 overall) 4-3 Tuesday afternoon on the PLNU Tennis Courts. 
 
Alejandro Castaneda and Alexander Leischner quickly notched the first win in doubles, taking court 3 by a 6-1 score.
 
Tyler Davis and Nabeel Khan's score on court 1 mirrored their teammate's 6-1 triumph sealing the doubles point for the PLNU. 

Up 1-0 heading into singles play, Khan lengthened the lead as he took court 2 in a 6-1, 6-3 victory, sending his opponent flying across the court.

"Nabeel had a great day today in both doubles and singles," said Point Loma Men's Tennis Head Coach Curt Wheeler. "He came out focused and ready to execute his game plan. His identity as an all-court player showed in his results."

Leischner followed close behind, cleaning up on court 2 in two sets 6-0, 6-4 to build PLNU's lead to 3-0.
 
The Roadrunners were not ready to go back to Denver without a fight, as they stole courts 1, 3, and 5 to come back and tie the match 3-3.  

Right on the Sea Lion heels, the clinching point fell on court 6 where Jasdeep Paintal and MSU's Caruana went at it in a tiebreak third set. Earlier on court 6, Caruana took the first set 2-6, Paintal took the second 6-4. 

Paintal put up a tremendous fight, coming back from a 4-1 deficit in the third set to bring himself just within reach of the Roadrunner, but still trailed 5-4.

Thriving off of the team's nearby energy rooting him on, Paintal broke Caruana's serve to stay in the game. Paintal held on as long as he could, before he sent a ball just short into the net, ending the match. 

"Today was a battle back and forth," reflected Wheeler. "These are the ones that you play college sports for. No match was easy for either team, regardless of the score."

The Sea Lions will hit the road on April 2nd for a Pac West rematch against Azusa Pacific at 3:00 pm. For the latest Sea Lion updates, visit plnusealions.com.