PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 2, 2012) – Both La Salle and Coppin State fell victim to the Red Flash men's tennis team by identical 5-2 scores on Sunday to improve to 4-11 on the season.

Against the Eagles, Saint Francis got off to a strong start by picking up the doubles point.  Nate Fleming (Gas City, Ind./Missossonewa) and Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) kicked things off with an 8-4 win at the no. 1 position while the combinations of Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra) and Chris Jimenez (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Preparatory) clinched the first point of the match with a victory at the no. 2 spot.  Juan Pardo (Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Andino) and Lawson Barter (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) completed the sweep with an 8-3 score.

“The men swept doubles and earned us the doubles point,” said head coach Paul Tobin.  “We were able to easily clinch nos. 3-6 singles; Nate had to default due to knee injury.”

Indeed, after Fleming and Rosa came up empty in the first two singles matches, Carvajal, Barter, Jimenez and Pardo turned in dominant performances to seal the win.  At the nos. 4 and 5 positions, Barter and Jimenez turned in 6-0, 6-0 scores, respectively.

Against the Explorers, the Red Flash followed a similar part to victory starting with a doubles point win.  SFU took two of three to score the first point of the match, earning wins at the nos. 1 and 2 spots.

Turning to singles play, Fleming and Rosa notched hard-fought wins by successfully wielding the nos. 1 and 2 racquets. The victories nailed the Flash to a 3-0 edge in the match allowing Carvajal to clinch the win with his tiebreaker win in the no. 3 position.

La Salle broke through with its first points of the day only after the team result was already determined.

Jimenez rounded out the SFU triumphs by carrying the no. 5 position in dominating fashion.

“I am very proud of the way the men picked up their games as a team,” said Tobin.  “The court surface was slow and that favored some of them who are use to working the ball more. Taking the doubles point was crucial, from there we were able to relax and close out the match.”

The Red Flash resumes action on Tuesday, April 10 at Georgetown.