BABSON PARK, Fla. (February 10, 2018) – The upstart Webber International University men's tennis team began the day on Saturday, February 10, with high hopes of shocking the No. 3 team in the NAIA, and the Warriors got off to a good start as Hugo Hasegawa and Ivan Bonderanko were victorious in No. 1 doubles, but in the end the strength of Keiser University was just too much as the Warriors fell to the Seahawks by a score of 8-1. Webber's women's team fell 9-0 to the Keiser women, who were also ranked No. 3 in the country.

Despite the final score, the Webber men (1-1 overall, 1-1 The Sun Conference) showed major improvement from the time it played Keiser last season when the Warriors did not win a single point.

This time around, not only did the combination of Hasegawa and Bonderanko play well and take down the Seahawk's top duo by a convincing score of 8-3, but many other Warriors had strong performances in defeat as Webber won 38 games in total on Saturday.

The Warriors nearly went up 2-0 at the end of doubles action as the young combination of Kyle Hall and Matthew Alexander played very well but ultimately fell by a score of 9-7 to a more experienced group from Keiser in No. 3 doubles.

In singles action, Bonderanko highlighted the action for Webber with a gutsy performance at No. 2 singles as he forced a third set with a 6-4 win in the second frame before falling 6-2 in the final set.

The Webber women (0-2, 0-2) saw Isabelle Niehoff and Svenja Koenig win three points during No. 2 doubles action while Koenig won four points in a 6-2, 6-2 decision at No. 4 singles. Emily John battled the Sun Conference's reigning women's tennis player of the week and fell 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 2 position.

The Keiser men improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in The Sun Conference while the team's women's record rose to 5-1 and 3-0.

"I was really proud of how we played overall," said Head Tennis Coach Otis Cutshaw. "We did some good things on both the men's and the women's sides, and our men really looked strong early, but Keiser was just a little bit more experienced than us, which I think made a major difference in the end. I think we are setting ourselves up to compete in the top half of the conference in both the men's and the women's standings."

Webber will remain at home to face Saint Thomas University at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 17. The Bobcats are currently ranked No. 25 in the country on the women's side as the Warrior women will play their third straight nationally ranked opponent to start the season.