SURPRISE, Ariz. - The OUAZ men's tennis season started on Friday afternoon, as the program was looking to kick it off with a signature win to start its third season. The Spirit had a rough go of it, and were unable to find the results it wanted.

OUAZ did not win a single matchup against UC Riverside, falling to the Highlanders 7-0 on Friday. It is the second consecutive year the Spirit have lost to Riverside to start the year.

The Spirit came close to taking Doubles Match #1, as Andres Reyes and Austin Todd pushed Andr Whelan-Merediz and Daniel Velek to the limit, but eventually falling 7-5. OUAZ dropped the other two doubles matches 0-6 and 3-6, respectively.

Reyes continued his good play into singles action despite losing in straight sets. He dropped set 1 to Nabil Abdallah 4-6, and nearly forced a decisive set before ultimately losing 6-7.

OUAZ stayed competitive in the singles matches, picking up at least a point in every set except for one in all six head-to-head contests. Alan Vasquez pushed toward a third set in his matchup, but fell 3-6.

The Spirit will scrimmage Mesa Community College next Friday, January 24 before jumping back into record-altering matchups on February 7. OUAZ will go to Irvine, Calif. to take on Concordia before heading North to Claremont, Calif. the next day, February 8.