After going more than three weeks without a dual match, Franklin men's tennis returned to the Mickel-Hoover Tennis Complex on Thursday afternoon for a showdown with IU East.

The Grizzlies fought valiantly but came out on the wrong side of a 4-3 score.

"We had opportunities but came up just short," Franklin coach Ryan Hammer said.

Franklin (1-3) started out strong, taking the doubles point behind wins from Marcus Cox and Shay Kyser at No. 2 and Jeremiah Hurt and Luke Morris at No. 3. Jaden Wells was a 6-0, 6-2 winner at third singles and Brian Vennemann added a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the fourth spot, helping even the match up at 3-3 and placing a spotlight on the No. 6 singles court, where the Grizzlies' Raymond Richard went up against the Red Wolves' Connor Burke.

Richard took the first set 7-5 before dropping the second. The junior battled back from a 6-1 deficit in the third-set super tiebreak to tie it at 9-9, but Burk took the next two points.

"He battled throughout and played a memorable match," Hammer said of Richard.

The Grizzlies are back on their home court Saturday afternoon against Olivet.