BALTIMORE, Md. (March 12, 2011) – The Red Flash men's tennis team won all but three sets on the afternoon as it tore through Coppin State for a 6-1 win at the new CSU Tennis Courts on Saturday.

"It's nice to be on the other end of such a big win,” said head coach Paul Tobin. “Nobody expects us to win against deep schools with lots of talent, but we need to secure wins against beatable opponents in order to gain confidence. I mixed up the lineup to get a better idea on where players stacked; my decisions proved right."

The reshuffled Saint Francis lineup yielded immediate results as Stephen Kowalski (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) and Matthew Jurjevich (London, Ontario/Niagara Academy of Tennis) opened double play with an 8-2 victory. The No. 2 duo of Youlian Natchev (Sofia, Bulgaria/Rovel College) and Kirby Mendes (Unionville, Ontario/Niagara Academy of Tennis) followed suit with an 8-4 win, while Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) and Nathaniel Fleming won by default.

Rosa dropped the only decision of the day for the Flash at No. 1 singles, falling to CSU's James Jeffreys, 6-3, 7-5.

At the No. 2 spot, Kowalski got back into the win column defeating Quincy Darko in a tightly contested, 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 match. From there, Saint Francis cruised to the win.

Natchev, Mendes and Fleming took the No. 3 through 5 competitions in straight 6-0 sets. The only exception was Jurjevich at No. 6 who won by default.

The Flash return to action on Sunday when they welcome Villanova to the Ebensburg Tennis Center.


Saint Francis 6, Coppin State 1
Singles
1.) James Jeffreys (CSU) def. Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) 6-3, 7-5
2.) Stephen Kowalski (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) (SFU) def. Quincy Darko 6-2, 3-6, 10-6
3.) Youlian Natchev (Sofia, Bulgaria/Rovel College) (SFU) def. Jahra Wigfall 6-0, 6-0
4.) Kirby Mendes (Unionville, Ontario/Niagara Academy of Tennis) (SFU) def. Casey Pleasants 6-0, 6-0
5.) Nathaniel Fleming (SFU) def. Richard Graham 6-0, 6-0
6.) Matthew Jurjevich (London, Ontario/Niagara Academy of Tennis) (SFU) won by default

Doubles
1.) Kowalski/Jurjevich (SFU) def. Jeffreys/Wigfall 8-2
2.) Natchev/Mendes (SFU) def. Darko/Pleasants 8-4
3.) Rosa/Fleming (SFU) won by default