The SIU men’s tennis team traveled this weekend to Knoxville, Tenn., to play University of Tennessee, Eastern Kentucky and Mercer.

In its first match against Tennessee, SIU was swept 7-0 and won one set against the No. 44 ranked team in the country. 

The second match against Eastern Kentucky was tied 3-3 with one match still in progress. 

Senior Jonny Rigby trailed 4-0 in the third and final set. Rigby rallied and won the set 7-6 to secure the victory for the Salukis.

In the third and final match against Mercer, SIU won 6-1. 

The nationally-ranked pair of Rigby and junior Michal Kianicka lost to Mercer’s Arnav Mohanty and Arsav Mohanty 7-6. 

The Mohanty duo is not ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association top-60 doubles teams. 

Junior Wilder Pimentel finished the weekend 2-1 in singles play and 2-1 in doubles play with his partner sophomore Alex Pozo.

The SIU men’s tennis team next plays NIU at 2 p.m. Feb. 6 in Dekalb.

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EvanJones_DE