The Calvin men's tennis team picked up an important 5-4 conference victory over Trine University Saturday afternoon at the Strikwerda Tennis Courts.

The Knights are now 7-7 overall and alone in second place in the MIAA standings at 3-1 with just two conference matches left to play next week.

Calvin gained the early lead by winning two of the three doubles points. Sophomore Taylor Asfour and freshman Matt VanWinkle were 8-1 winners at No. 1 doubles while junior Matt Buesing and senior Tom Griffin pulled off an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles.

Singles play then turned into a dog-fight. Trine picked up a win at No. 1 singles to tie the score at two but Griffin came up with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles to put the Knights up 3-2. Trine picked up a three-set win at No. 3 singles to again tie the score at 3-3 but freshman David Brown came up with a 6-3, 7-5 win at five singles and Asfour clinched the win with a gutty 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at four singles to pick up the clinching fifth point for the Knights.

"It was another hard-fought conference win but our guys are digging down and refusing to fold and that's a good sign," said Calvin men's tennis coach John Ross. "Last year we lost a ton of these (5-4) matches. This year we're learning how to turn them around in our favor and that's a great sign for this team."

Calvin is back in action on Tuesday when it hosts Bethel College (Ind.) in a non-conference match. The Knights then travel to Alma on April 24 and to Hope on April 25 to conclude the regular season.