Howard Payne hosted Hope College on March 5 but fell 7-0 in the team match. Despite the final score, the Yellow Jackets showed flashes of competitiveness throughout doubles and singles play.

The closest action early came in doubles at the No. 2 position, where Parker Hoel and Riley Harker battled Hope's Aiden Sin and Ian Williams before falling 6-4. The No. 1 pairing of Gabriel Keeney-McCollough and Luke Fleming also found rhythm late in their set, though Hope's Alec Maynard and Cooper Nugent secured a 6-2 decision. At No. 3 doubles, Eli Hall and Ben Mabry fought hard but came up short 6-1 against Owen Jackson and Ned Curley.

Howard Payne's most competitive singles match came at the top of the lineup. Gabriel Keeney-McCollough pushed Hope's Ned Curley through a tightly contested opening set that went to a tiebreak before splitting the first two sets. The match ultimately came down to a 10-point tiebreak in the third, where Curley edged out the victory.

Elsewhere in singles play, Parker Hoel battled in the second set of his match at No. 5 before Hope's Elliot Dozeman pulled away for the win. Ben Mabry, Eli Hall, Riley Harker, and Luke Fleming also represented Howard Payne in singles competition as the Yellow Jackets continued to gain valuable match experience.

Howard Payne head coach Josh Lopez said the team continues to focus on development as the season progresses.

"We ran into a really strong team today, but I'm proud of how our guys competed, especially in some of those tighter moments," Lopez said. "Gabriel's match at No. 1 showed a lot of fight and we had a good doubles battle at No. 2. These matches help us grow, and we'll take the lessons from today and keep building."