CINCINNATI, OHIO – The Furman men's tennis team picked up its first victory of the 2025 season Saturday evening with a 5-2 win over the Xavier Musketeers in non-conference action from the Eastern Hills Indoor Tennis Club.

Furman evens its record at 1-1 on the season while Xavier drops to 1-4 overall.

The Paladins, who were back in action for the first time in nearly two weeks, dropped the doubles point to the Musketeers before responding by capturing five of the six singles matches for the 5-2 triumph.

Xavier jumped out to the early 1-0 lead following a pair of doubles wins. Matt Kandel and Elijah Poritzky made quick work of Ryan Cahill and Charlie Temming in the No. 1 match with a 6-2 victory. The Musketeers responded by winning the No. 2 and No. 3 contests to capture the doubles point. Christian Gonzalez and Kyle Totorica followed by holding off Cole Burnam and Connor Laymon in the No. 2 match, 7-5. The No. 3 match went into a tiebreaker with Marco Pennelli and Andrew Spurck topping Nicolas Dispas and Nico Snyder, 7-6(5).

Furman secured the first four singles matches to claim the victory. Walker Allen got the Paladins on the board first with his 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Totorica at No. 6. Kandel continued the Furman run at No. 2 with his 7-6(10), 6-1 win against Temming. John Rado, playing at No. 4, compiled a 6-3, 6-2 victory versus Pennelli. Poritzky clinched the contest for the Paladins in the No. 1 match, defeating Cahill in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-4.

Gonzalez cut Furman's lead to 4-2 after winning the No. 3 match against Theophile Joly in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

Dispas, playing in the No. 5 contest, closed out the match for the Paladins with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win versus Spurck.

Furman is back in action Sunday afternoon when it faces Bellarmine at 12 p.m. in Louisville, Ky. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats and live streaming. Updates will be posted on the Furman men's tennis Twitter page (@FurmanMTennis).