PHOTOS

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and the Illinois Institute of Technology played their third instant classic the past two seasons with the Scarlet Hawks narrowly squeaking past Rose-Hulman with a 4-3 victory.

After falling 5-4 and 5-3 to Illinois Tech last season, the Fightin' Engineers took to the court looking to avenge last season's sweep.

Rose-Hulman got on the board first by sweeping all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead.

In singles, Ervin Perkowski quickly doubled the lead to 2-0 with an easy 6-2, 6-2 win at #3 singles.

After the Scarlet Hawks battled back to level the match at 2, all three of the final matches reached a third and final set to decide the match.

After saving three match points in the second set, Ephraim Guthrie turned a 6-3, 5-2 deficit into a second-set win at #6 singles, but he was unable to close out the match, falling 6-4 in the third to give Illinois Tech a 3-2 lead.

Owen Reynolds turned the tide for the Fightin' Engineers as he won a marathon of a match at #2 as he closed out the match with a 7-4 win in the third set tiebreak for the 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(7-4) victory.

In the final match of the day, Chris Lian and his opponent at #5 singles continued to trade blow after blow, back and forth with neither player able to gain an edge. The Scarlet Hawks picked up a 6-4 win in the opening set, but Lian battled right back to send it to a third with a 7-6(7-4) win in the second. However, Illinois Tech was able to outlast and hold on for the 6-3 victory in the final set and the 4-3 win overall.

With the loss, the Fightin' Engineers fall to 2-2 on the season. The team returns to action on Saturday, February 15 as they host the Olivet Nazarene Tigers at 4 PM at the Terre Haute Tennis and Pickleball Center.