RICHMOND, IND. -- Defending Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Earlham College showed its strength with an 8-1 men's tennis victory over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in a battle of the league's top two teams.

Earlham improved to 9-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 6-6 on the season and 6-1 in league matches.  The Fightin' Engineers can still secure the No. 2 seed for the HCAC Tournament and a first round bye in the event with a win over Anderson in their final conference regular season match.

Freshman Joe Kendall (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Covington Catholic) provided the lone victory of the day for the Fightin' Engineers at the No. 6 singles position.  Kendall earned a 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) win over Andrey Gavrilov.

Rose-Hulman returns to action at IU-Southeast on Saturday.

Earlham 8, Rose-Hulman 1

Singles competition
1. Anton Bartashevich (ECM) def. Brandon Benedict (RHIT) 6-0, 6-3
2. Phillip Locklear (ECM) def. Georges Adam (RHIT) 6-2, 6-2
3. Hank Levin (ECM) def. Matthew Conrad (RHIT) 6-0, 6-1
4. Jack Ventura-Cruess (ECM) def. Nate Moore (RHIT) 6-0, 6-4
5. Scott Lawrence (ECM) def. Erin Miller (RHIT) 6-1, 6-2
6. Joe Kendall (RHIT) def. Andrey Gavrilov (ECM) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)

Doubles competition
1. Anton Bartashevich/Jack Ventura-Cruess (ECM) def. Brandon Benedict/Georges Adam (RHIT) 8-1
2. Phillip Locklear/Hank Levin (ECM) def. Matthew Conrad/Nate Moore (RHIT) 8-2
3. Scott Lawrence/Andrey Gavrilov (ECM) def. Erin Miller/Ray Montgomery (RHIT) 8-4