ST. PAUL – Bethel University tennis squads traveled to St. Paul, Minn. Saturday afternoon to take on Macalester College in an afternoon matinee. Missing two of the top four players, the Royals took a back seat to the Scots in the MIAC affair, losing 8-1.
 
With Tucker Morris (Jr., Arden Hills, Minn.) and Bryce Johnson (Sr., Blaine, Minn.) gone, BU attempted to manage throughout the match Saturday. Reggie Ronning (Jr., Alexandria, Minn.) and Kent Nichols (Sr., Zimmerman, Minn.) responded nicely in the number one doubles match, defeating their opponents 9-7. Yet that was the only match the Royals would win the rest of the day. Nichols nearly proved to be victorious in the number one singles match, as he roared back to even the match with a 6-4 second set win, but fell 10-8 in the tie-breaking third set.
 
With the loss, Bethel falls to 3-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play. The Royals hope to salvage the rest of the conference season, but will need to do it on the road, as the last two matches are at St. Olaf and at Hamline. BU does return for one more home match on May 1 against St. Cloud State University.