DAHLONEGA – The No. 21 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's tennis team dropped its final home match of the season in a 4-3 thriller against No. 25 Columbus State (CSU) Monday afternoon.

The Nighthawks (9-6, 2-3 Peach Belt) fell behind early against the Cougars (9-9, 2-1) and fought back valiantly before ultimately coming up just short in the final match of the day.

CSU took an early lead in the match after winning the #1 and #3 doubles contests to go up 1-0 overall.

The Cougars quickly raced to the precipice of victory after picking up singles wins in the #3 and #6 matches to lead 3-0 in the team match.

UNG fought back however as freshman Juan Cruz Blanco earned a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 comeback win in #5 singles. 

Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) men's singles No. 16 Pedro Liborio added to the momentum for the Nighthawks with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 defeat of Camilo Cano in the #1 singles match. 

At 3-2 the intensity heightened with only two matches left to play in the contest. 

Unfortunately, CSU's Samer Al Tori won the #2 singles match 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3 tiebreaker) to clinch the victory for the Cougars.

The Nighthawks will now get ready for one final regular season match ahead of the 2025 Peach Belt Conference Tournament. They will head to Montgomery, Ala. for a neutral site match against No. 26 Mississippi College on Thursday, April 17 at 11 a.m.