EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE men's tennis collected a pair of singles win Sunday but were defeated by visiting Butler 5-2 at the Edwardsville Y.

SIUE dropped to 0-4 to start the season. Butler improved to 1-2.

"Butler is a very good team that will do well in the Big East Conference," said SIUE Head Coach Jason Coomer. "Our guys took a big step forward in the way they played today. Battling injuries will never be an excuse to not show up and compete at a high level, and these guys won't make any excuses about what we do or do not have."

Tristan Houle and Matthew Hutchinson won their respective singles matches for the Cougars.

For Houle, it was his first dual match victory as a No. 1 player.

"Tristan played one of the best matches he has played in his short career here." said Coomer. "Tristan has a style that he can play with everybody's best. Hopefully after today he sees the next level he can get to because he competed at a level I have not seen before."

Houle, who defeated Mikheil Khmiadashvil 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-0, said he felt better about his performance than just 48 hours previous against Saint Louis.

"I was playing smarter and my balls were played deeper and with more topspin," said Houle. "I thought it was a good win for me."

Hutchinson was the final player off the court, outlasting Spencer Lang 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 10-5. Hutchinson and Lang played a tiebreaker in the third set after the team score had been decided.

"Matt is one of the most naturally gifted players on our team," said Coomer. "He has shown in the past that he can beat players who some would consider the tops in our league. Once Matt understands and trusts in himself that he can be that type of players, he is going to find more big wins like he did today."

Hutchinson recalled what his coaches discussed previous to the match.

"Before the match, we talked about fighting for every point and leaving your blood, sweat and tears on the court," said Hutchinson. "Going up against Butler was a big team. We want to go out there and play our best. I tried to play with no fear and hope for the best."

SIUE next heads to the road for two matches. The Cougars faces Iowa Friday at 10 a.m. followed by Chicago State Saturday at 9 a.m.