Men's Tennis | 2/17/2015 7:24:00 PM

GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Saint Francis University men's tennis team played out of division for the first time this spring on Friday, but saw no drop-off in the quality of competition.

The Red Flash put up a solid effort in its first match of the season at the Greensburg Racket Club but fell, 4-3, to Carnegie Mellon University – the ninth-ranked in Division III.

"This was a good effort against a very solid Carnegie Mellon team," said Flash coach Rob Castille.  "I thought we came out pretty well in doubles but I definitely feel that we can be even more energetic and more active at the net. In singles, I was pleased with how most of the guys competed. However, I know we haven't had a match yet where everyone has competed at their best and this is something we need to fix as we must be more consistent with this moving forward."
 
The Tartans jumped out to an early one-point lead, albeit by slim margins. However, SFU promptly tied the match when Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) pulled out a win at #3 singles.  Carnegie Mellon took the next two matches to move ahead, 3-1, but the Red Flash staved off the loss when Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) easily handled his Tartan counterpart, 6-4, 6-3, in No. 1 singles.
 
Tommy Cheng clinched the CMU victory with a win at No. 6 singles.  Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) tacked on one more flashpoint with a win out of his No. 5 position.
 
The Frankies are back in action on Friday, Feb. 20 when they host Bucknell in Monroeville, Pa. The match is scheduled to begin at noon.


Carnegie Mellon University 4, St. Francis University 3
Feb 13, 2015 at Greensburg, Pa. 

Singles competition

1. Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) (SFUM) def. Abhishek Alla (CMUM) 6-4, 6-3

2. C. Heaney-Secord (CMUM) def. Chris Jimenez (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Preparatory) (SFUM) 6-1, 6-3

3. Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) (SFUM) def. Will Duncan (CMUM) 4-3, retired

4. Kunal Wadwani (CMUM) def. Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) (SFUM) 6-1, 6-4

5. Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) (SFUM) def. Jack Kasbeer (CMUM) 6-3, 1-6, 6-0

6. Tommy Cheng (CMUM) def. Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra) (SFUM) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1

 

Doubles competition

1. Will Duncan/C. Heaney-Secord (CMUM) def. Sergio Carvajal (Nueva Esparta, Venezuela/U.E. Fray Elias Maria Sendra)/Chris Jimenez (Bayside, N.Y./St. Francis Preparatory) (SFUM) 8-5

2. Bryce Beisswanger/Yuvraj Kumar (CMUM) def. Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres)/Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) (SFUM) 8-6

3. Jack Kasbeer/Matt Seifert (CMUM) def. Lawson Barter (Chicago, Ill./Loyola)/Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) (SFUM) 8-5

 

Match Notes

St. Francis University 2-4

Carnegie Mellon University 4-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,4,1,6,5)

Carnegie Mellon is ranked ninth nationally in Division III