EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Nico Kuehn and Jacob Tanulanond each won their singles matches Saturday but the SIUE men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to Belmont at the SIUE Tennis Courts.

SIUE, 10-9 overall and 4-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, play one more regular season match Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. matchup against Tennessee State.

"I think today shows that we can play with anybody in our league," said SIUE Head Coach Jason Coomer. "Our guys should take some confidence in that moving forward. We'll look to rebound tomorrow against Tennessee State and see how the league standings turn out once regular season play is completed tomorrow."

The Cougars are looking to be among the six-team field at next week's OVC Tournament in Paducah, Ky.

"This team is not afraid to play anyone," said Coomer. "They are hungry for an opportunity to get to the conference tournament and show the improvement they have made throughout the year."

On Saturday, SIUE fell behind early by dropping the doubles point. The Cougars gained it right back when Patrick Gaffigan collected a forfeit at No. 6 singles from Belmont.

Kuehn lifted the Cougars in singles action with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Hans Nardelli.

Tanulanond needed three sets but ultimately defeated Henrick Claesson 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

The Cougars were not as fortunate in two other singles matches, dropping three-set matches.

"Today was a tough loss for us to take" said Coomer. "Our guys played hard all day and just came up a little bit short. Give Belmont credit, they stepped up when it was critical in the match and found a way to win the big points."

Belmont improved to 9-9 overall and 7-1 in the OVC.