Howard Payne traveled to Abilene, Texas on March 6 for a doubleheader against Oklahoma Wesleyan University and continued to battle through a challenging stretch of the season. While the Yellow Jackets came up short in both matches, the team showed resilience with several strong individual performances throughout the day.

The opening match saw Howard Payne pick up a highlight in doubles play as Eli Hall and Ben Mabry delivered a strong performance at the No. 3 position, earning a 6-2 victory. In singles action, Gabriel Keeney-McCollough provided one of the most competitive matches of the contest at the top of the lineup. After dropping the first set, Keeney-McCollough battled back to win the second 7-5 and forced a deciding match tiebreak before narrowly falling.

Howard Payne responded with some solid individual efforts in the second match of the day. Keeney-McCollough turned in an impressive performance at No. 1 singles, earning a straight-set victory with a 6-4, 6-1 win. Parker Hoel also added a point for the Yellow Jackets, controlling his match at the No. 5 position with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

The Jackets also saw a strong push from Eli Hall in singles play during the second match. Hall rebounded after the opening set to claim the second and force a match tiebreak before narrowly coming up short.

Head coach Josh Lopez said the day showed encouraging signs for the program despite the results.

"I'm proud of the way our guys kept competing throughout a long day," Lopez said. "Gabriel played two really strong matches at the top of the lineup and Parker stepped up with a great win as well. We're seeing progress in our fight and confidence, and those are the things that will keep moving this group forward as the season continues."