NEW ORLEANS, LA - The NJIT men's tennis team suffered its second setback in 14 matches this season, falling 5-2 to host New Orleans on Wednesday at the Privateer Tennis Center. 

The match was the first outdoor contest this season for the Highlanders, who are now 12-2 on the season, while UNO saw its record improve to 8-5.

"All I can say is we were right there in this one," explained Head Coach Marco Matteucci.

UNO went ahead 1-0 as it narrowly edged NJIT in the doubles point. Pablo Perez Ramos and Josh Smith won their match at first doubles to give the Highlanders an early edge, but the Privateers rallied to take the second and third doubles matches via tiebreakers to jump out to an early lead.

"I am disappointed witht he doubles result, because after Pablo and Josh closed out their win, we had several match points on one court, and we were up in the tiebreaker on the other," added Matteucci. "We let that first point slip away."

Just as he has done all season, Perez Ramos got NJIT on the board with a 6-2, 6-3 victory at first singles. With the win, the sophomore improved to 12-1 in singles play this season, with all 13 matches taking place in the top flight.

Joining Perez Ramos as a winner for the Highlanders on Wednesday was freshman Pavel Petrov, who won his match at #6 singles 6-4, 6-4. Petrov is a perfect 6-0 in singles action this season.

"This loss will make us hungrier," concluded Matteucci. "The belief was there and it was our first outdoor match of the season against last season's Southland Champions. We showed that we can compete well outdoors as well and with more outdoor preparation I'm sure we will be ready for the conference tournament next month."

Complete results from the match can be found here.

The Highlanders return to action on Friday when they wrap up their Louisiana trip against Nicholls. First serve is slated for 2pm CT.