HOUSTON - For the second straight day the 67th-ranked Tulane men's tennis team secure the fourth and decisive point and fell 4-3 to host Rice on Sunday afternoon at the Rice Invitational at the Jake Hess Tennis Center. 

The Green Wave (11-6) once again took the doubles point and held a 3-2 lead with two singles matches still going, but could not hang on and dropped each of the final two matches in three sets. 

"We couldn't have come any closer to a win this weekend without actually getting one," Tulane head coach Mark Booras said. " Two 4-3, last match on, road losses hurts a bit, but we know that these experiences and tough schedule will continue to make us stronger down the road.  We have been in a handful of barn-burners this year, and have come out on the winning side of a bunch, but just couldn't get it done today.  We still have a lot of tennis left this season and the guys are hungry to finish strong." 

After the doubles teams of 37th-ranked Dominik Koepfer and Jao Chi-Shan and Sebastian Rey and Takuma Ohashi won on courts one and two, respectively, to earn the first point for the Green Wave, Rice (7-9) claimed the first two singles matches before Chi-Shan and Rey earned straight-sets wins on courts four and two, respectively, to allow Tulane to regain the 3-2 advantage. 

The final two points came down to a third set, both won by Rice, including the clinching match, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, by Tommy Bennett over Koepfer on court one. 

The Green Wave return home to close out the regular season with a four-match homestand that begins on March 29 against Southern Miss at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center. 

The mission of the Tulane University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is to support the university's purpose of enriching the capacity to think, learn, act, and lead with integrity and wisdom.  This is ensured by providing our student-athletes and staff with opportunities for competitive success and personal growth within the context of sportsmanship, teamwork, and integrity.