QUEENS, N.Y. (October 16, 2014) – The Red Flash Men's tennis team traveled to Saint John's University in Queens, N.Y. last weekend for the USTA/ITA Regional Championships.
 
Junior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) went one for two in singles matches. Coach Rob Castille was satisfied with Gervais' performance and sees this outing as a confidence booster.
 
"I think we can take a lot away from our experience this weekend. Washi beat a solid player from Cornell in the first round and then lost in 3 to FDU's #1. He had never taken a set from Arvis so it was a good boost of confidence knowing that he can play with the best in the conference."
 
Doubles for the Red Flash were a little harder to handle. The duo of Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra) and Chris Jimenez (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Preparatory) battled it out for the first win the competition. Coach Castille sees room for improvement:
 
"In doubles, we didn't play our best but fought hard in the first match and pulled out the win. I wasn't pleased with our effort in the second match and against such good competition, we need to be ready to play from the first point on."
 
Overall the experience for the men's tennis team at the USTA/ITA Regionals was a good one and one that Coach Castille is glad his team went through to progress onwards for the spring season:
 
"I think both Chris and Washi were able to see what it'll take to reach the next level and they have shared this with the team. I'm looking forward to the hard work they are going to put in these next couple months so they are ready to go in January."
 
In January the men's tennis team will resume by traveling to Annapolis, Md. to compete against the United State Naval Academy.
 
Singles
1. GERVAIS (SFU) def. BROWN, Dylan (CU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
2. BERZINS, Arvis (FDU) def. GERVAIS (SFU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
 
Doubles
1. CARVAJAL/JIMENEZ (SFU) def. FIORAVANTE, Alex/SAAVEDRA, Xabier (DU), 8-7(5)
2. CHANTHALANGSY, Justin/GIUDICI, Matteo (Marist) def. CARVAJAL/JIMENEZ (SFU), 8-1