NEWARK, N.J. (March 26, 2011) – The Red Flash men's tennis team dropped a pair of shortened matches on Saturday to close out its non-conference slate. Home-standing NJIT defeated Saint Francis, 5-0, while Hartford came away with a close, 3-2, decision. Both matches were held indoors at NJIT's Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility.

Despite the final score, SFU played NJIT tight in nearly every set, including a pair of decisions that required a tie-breaker for resolution in the Nos. 3 and 4 singles spots.

“I see the men gaining ground and doing an excellent job establishing rallies and dictating points,” said Saint Francis head coach Paul Tobin. “From a look at the scores you can see lots of holds and breaks. Our problem lies in our inability to close out the big points and convert break points into games won. Not having Elahn [Pogue] really hurt us today.”

Youlian Natchev (Sofia, Bulgaria/Rovel College) did a solid job playing up a spot at No. 1 singles, falling 7-5, 7-6. Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) and Stephen Kowalski (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) each fell in the third set at the Nos. 3 and 4 positions, respectively.

Against Hartford, the Flash dropped their singles point and saw their deficit increase to 2-0 when Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) fell in No. 1 singles, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Nathaniel Fleming finally broke into the win column at No. 2 singles, winning 7-5, 6-1. Hartford responded with a win at the No. 3 spot to clinch the team victory. Kowalski won the final match of the day, 6-2, 6-4, to round out the competition.

“I told my men today that we are peaking and we need to keep this momentum going into our conference matches this weekend,” said Tobin. “Most of our lineup is playing its best tennis of the season. I am confident we are going compete well against conference this weekend. If Elahn is healthy our lineup will be strong.”



NJIT 5, Saint Francis 0
Doubles
1. Bryan Keelan/Fraser Croad (NJIT) def. Nathaniel Fleming/Kirby Mendes (Unionville, Ontario/Niagara Academy of Tennis) (SFU) 8-2

Singles
1. Petr Rousar (NJIT) def. Youlian Natchev (Sofia, Bulgaria/Rovel College) (SFU) 7-5, 6-4
2. Joao Tasca (NJIT) def. Matthew Jurjevich (London, Ontario/Niagara Academy of Tennis) (SFU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Dan Saloman (NJIT) def. Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) (SFU) 6-7, 6-0, 7-6
4. Martin Cederqvist (NJIT) def. Stephen Kowalski (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) (SFU) 2-6, 6-2, 10-4


Hartford 3, Saint Francis 2
Doubles
1. Nedeley/Miletuc (UH) def. Jurjevuch/Mendez (SFU) 8-5

Singles
1. Bhalls (UH) def. Rosa (SFU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. Fleming (SFU) def. Neves 7-5, 6-1
3. Isaacsin (UH) def. Natchev (SFU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Kowalski (SFU) def. Floum (UH) 6-2, 6-4