WEBSTER GROVES - Webster University returned to St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play here Tuesday evening by suffering a 9-0 setback to five-time reigning league champion Principia College at the Webster Groves Tennis Center.

With the setback, Webster drops its third straight match and falls to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the league, while Principia improves to 9-6 overall and 1-0 in the league. In addition to dropping its third straight match, Webster also lost its first home match this season and was shut out for just the second time this season.

In Tuesday's match against the Panthers, the Gorloks won a total of 16 games, including junior Riley Muren (O'Fallon, Ill./Illinois-Springfield) and sophomore Austin Nation (Oklahoma City, Okla./Purcell) winning a total of 12 of those games. 

Principia began the match by sweeping all three doubles matches with the closest match coming at the No. 1 spot as Muren and Nation fell 8-4 to Principia's No. 1 team of Wyatt Dale and Greg Sovie. 

The Panthers won No. 2 doubles, 8-1 and posted an 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles. It was the seventh time this season that Principia has swept all three doubles matches. 

Meanwhile, in singles, Principia posted straight sets wins in all six matches, including Daniel Gomez improving to 14-0 on the season at No. 1 singles as he defeated Muren, 6-1, 6-1. 

At No. 3 doubles, senior Charlie McGhee (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) fell 6-2, 6-1 to Sovie and Nation fell 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to Dale.

The other singles match that Webster was able to take a game off Principia as junior Nicolas Andrade (Quito, Ecuador/Francis Howell) fell 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot to Brody Swan. 

Principia won by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores at both No. 4 and No. 5 singles. 

Webster returns to action on Thursday, April 11 as they face Fontbonne University in an 8:30 p.m. SLIAC match at the St. Clair Tennis Center in O'Fallon, Ill. It will mark the second match-up this season between the two schools as Webster won an non-conference match over the Griffins, 7-2, at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park.