LEWISBURG, Pa. (Sept. 9, 2012) – The Saint Francis U men's tennis team started its fall segment on a strong note at the Bucknell Quad over the weekend.  A pair of freshmen – Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) and Kevin Pijper (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Amstelpark Tennis Academy) – highlighted the Red Flash participants during the three-day event.

Gervais advanced to the Flight “B” title match before falling to Niagara's Brandon Gallegos in a tight 6-4, 6-7 decision.  Pijper also stood out in the 12-man field but fell in the Flight “B” semifinals, also to Gallegos.

During his run to the final, Gervias racked up a 2-1 record including wins over the host Bison's Jon deFrancesch and Kyle Rosen.  Pijper defeated Bucknell's Aidan Lynch in straight sets before outlasting Mathieu Lacacse in a tiebreaker.

“Some of our players really stepped up this weekend,” said head coach Paul Tobin.  “All-in-all, it was a very strong and encouraging first tournament for us.  Washi and Kevin stood out but there were plenty of positives up and down the roster.”

Many of the upper classman also had tight scores, with Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra) pushing his Flight “A” front draw opponent to a third set and Juan Pardo (Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Andino) earning a 1-1 record in Flight “C” singles play.

Saint Francis' new-look doubles teams also yielded some quick results.  The pairing of Stefan Groot (Alphen aan den Rijn, South Holland/Scala College) and Carvajal pulled out a nice win over Bucknell's no. 1 team from last season. Chris Jimenez (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Preparatory) and Gervais also notched a front-draw win.  Lawson Barter (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) and Pardo made it into the win column with a resounding, 8-2, back-draw victory.




DOUBLES
1st Round
Groot/Carvajal (SFU) def. Zimmer/Katten (BU) 9-8
Gervais/Jimenez (SFU) def. Kuchta/Castro (Loyola) 8-5
Elartequi/Raymond (NU) def. Rosa/Pijper (SFU) 3-8
Morgue/Lynch (BU) def. Barter/Pardo (SFU) 4-8

Second Round
Gallegos/Schwejer (NU) def. Groot/Carvajal (SFU) 4-8
Bybel/deFrancesh (BU) def. Gervais/Jimenez (SFU) 4-8

Back Draws
Barter/Pardo (SFU) def. Mucci/Bojanowski (NU) 8-2
Pietrak/Gorczkowsi (Loyola) def. Pardo/Barter (SFU) 6-8


MEN'S FLIGHT A SINGLES
First Round
David Raymond (NU) def. Andres Rosa (Carolina, Puerto Rico/Colegio la Piedad) (SFU) 5-7, 6-3 (8-10)
Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra) (SFU) vs Bye
Oliver Dufour (NU) def. Chris Jimenez (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Preparatory) (SFU) 1-6, 0-6

2nd Round
Kelly Morque (BU) def. Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra) (SFU) 6-1, 4-6 (6-10)


MEN'S FLIGHT B SINGLES
1st Round
Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) vs Bye
Kevin Pijper (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Amstelpark Tennis Academy) (SFU) def. Aidan lynch (BU) 6-2, 7-5
Brandon Gallegos (NU) def. Stefan Groot (Alphen aan den Rijn, South Holland/Scala College) (SFU) 3-6, 3-6

2nd Round
Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) (SFU) def. Jon deFrancesch (BU) 6-4, 6-4
Kevin Pijper (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Amstelpark Tennis Academy) (SFU) def. Matthieu Lacasce (NU) 7-5, 4-6 (10-8)

Semifinals
Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) (SFU) def. Kyle Rosen (BU) 7-6, 7-6
Brandon Gallegos (NU) def. Kevin Pijper (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Amstelpark Tennis Academy) (SFU) 2-6, 1-6

Finals
Brandon Gallegos (NU) def. Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) (SFU) 4-6, 6-7 (7-5)


MEN'S FLIGHT C SINGLES
1st Round
Lawson Barter (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) (SFU) def. Jeff de Santo (Loyal) 6-1, 6-3
Juan Pardo (Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Andino) (SFU) def. Mike Mucci (NU) 6-2, 7-5

2nd Round
Josh Katten (BU) def. Lawson Barter (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) (SFU) 1-6, 4-6
Chris Tortura (BU) def. Juan Pardo (Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Andino) (SFU) 6-7, 4-6