NORWALK — The Ballard men's tennis team battled until the very end Tuesday night, but came up just short in a tightly contested 6-5 dual loss to Norwalk.

The match was decided in the final few flights after a back-and-forth evening that featured multiple three-set battles and a split across both singles and doubles play.

Ballard picked up key wins in singles from Easton Ersland, who defeated Wyatt Coburn 6-4, 7-5, and Cameron Allen, who rallied past Carson Menke 0-6, 7-5, 10-2 in a dramatic comeback win.

Norwalk, however, controlled several of the top singles matchups, including straight-set victories from Ben Swim and Rohan Tiedt, while Isaac Lors and Lane Juergens each secured hard-fought three-set wins to help the hosts build momentum.

In doubles play, Ballard answered with strong performances. Ersland and Ross earned a solid 6-2, 6-3 win, while Allen teamed with Breken Fleischmann to edge Menke/Caleb Menke in a marathon 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 10-8 finish. Chase Krogman and Dylon Marks also delivered a clutch three-set victory, winning 4-6, 6-2, 10-3.

Norwalk ultimately secured the dual by taking key points in tight doubles matchups, including a straight-set win from Coburn/Lors and a narrow tiebreak victory from Swim/Tiedt.

Despite the loss, Ballard showed resilience throughout the lineup, pushing multiple matches to decisive super tiebreakers and competing evenly across the dual.

With the result, Ballard moves to 5-2 on the season.

The Bombers will look to bounce back quickly as they travel to Boone on Tuesday, April 28, with matches beginning at 4:15 PM.