WHITTIER, Calif. - For the second straight match the Whittier College men's tennis team dug itself into a hole after doubles play. Occidental swept the three doubles matches and the Poets could only earn a 3-3 split in singles as the purple and gold suffered its second loss in as many days, 6-3, on Saturday morning.

The Poets (3-4, 0-3 SCIAC) came out flat and couldn't recover from early deficits. The No. 3 doubles team of Gavin Smith and Frank Sun had an opportunity to serve out the match up 7-6 but eventually fell in a tiebreaker, 8-7.

Julian Seneviratne and Patricio Carregha made a late run to make a 7-2 deficit turn into 7-5 but it was too little too late. The duo fell at No. 2 doubles, 8-5.

Occidental clinched the match within the first three finishes in singles competition. Justin DeLong gave the Poets a boost with a routine 6-3, 6-1, win at the fourth slot but the Tigers won in straight sets at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to take the match.

Seneviratne continued his solid play at No. 2 singles with a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Sean Robertson is getting back to the form that earned him second-team All-SCIAC honors a season ago as he won in the third singles slot, 6-3, 4-6, 10-7.

The Poets will travel to Pasadena, Calif., next Saturday to face Caltech before it returns home for a critical seven-match home stand against elite Division III competition.