GOSHEN, Ind. — Martim Cafe was a singles winner Saturday as the Goshen College men's and women's tennis teams dropped the first installments of the Goshen-Grace rivalry for the 2019-20 academic year. The Maple Leaf men lost 6-1 and the women lost 7-0 with both matches played at the Goshen courts.

The Lancer men, fresh off an upset of 17th-ranked Northwestern Ohio at midweek, opened play by taking two of the three doubles matches, earning a 1-0 lead under the new NAIA scoring format. Danny Boussom and Josh Friesen earned a 6-4 win at no. 2 singles for Goshen (2-1) while Filippo Bigardi and Luke Rush stayed within the same margin at no. 3.

The teams split the first set in the six singles matches, with Grace (3-0) getting wins at the second, third and sixth spots. Friesen was the first Goshen man to pull ahead, going up 4-1 at no. 5 singles and taking the opener 7-5, followed by Cafe at no. 4 and Bigardi at the top spot.

The second sets, by and large, were not straightforward; the two exceptions were Cafe, who finished off a 6-2, 6-2 win on the fourth court, and Grace's Pavle Popovic, who cranked out a 6-3, 6-3 win one position higher. Two second sets went the distance and ended in tiebreakers, while a third involved several set breaks and finished 6-4.

Unfortunately for the hosts, all three of the long second sets went Grace's way. At the no. 1 court, Max Rozas came back to level his match with a 6-3 win for the Lancers. Rozas and Milan Savic both won third sets to finish the team match.

Kyra Krall's 6-3, 6-4 loss at no. 6 singles was the bright spot for the Maple Leaf women, who dropped to 0-2 in conference play. Krall also combined with Elsie Koop Liechty for a 6-2 defeat at no. 3 doubles as Grace opened play with a 3-0 advantage in the newly streamlined doubles matches. Sarah Hinshaw and Hannah McCoy pushed their opponents to 6-4 at no. 2.

The Lancers (2-1) finished with five double winners on the women's side to move to 2-0 in conference play.

After three days off, the Maple Leafs continue their series of rivalry matches with a visit to Bethel University at Knollwood Country Club in Granger. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.