PHILADELPHIA (Mar. 2, 2015) – The Saint Francis U men's tennis team came close to upsetting a pair of Philadelphia rivals, but ended up falling just short with a pair of 4-3 setbacks. The Red Flash fell to Saint Joseph's on Saturday and Drexel on Sunday.
 
The Flash quickly fell behind against Saint Joe's, dropping the doubles point and then surrendering the first two points in singles play.  Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) held off the inevitable with a win out of his No. 5 spot, but the Hawks clinched the match by taking No. 4 singles.
 
Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) and Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) won the Nos. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, but after the outcome was decided.
 
"Overall, I was pleased with how the team competed," said Flash coach Rob Castille. "Having played for years against Saint Joseph's in the A10s, I know that they are a solid team. I think we need to improve our doubles play as the doubles point proved to be the difference. But I am pleased with the direction we are heading and it's nice to finally have all of our players eligible and healthy."
 
Against Drexel, the Frankies got a strong performance from the top of its lineup with Gervais and Tico teaming up to take No. 1 doubles and then the Nos. 1 and 2 points, respectively.
 
The Dragons eventually took the doubles point but, with a win from Dylan Alec Foo-Kune with his No. 4 racquet, SFU was able to hold off Drexel until the second-to-last match of the day.
 
"Drexel is a strong team and even with the loss, we can take a lot of positives away from this match," said Castille.  "However, doubles once again proved to be the difference. This is something we will really focus on and work hard in practice to improve over these next two weeks."
 
SFU is back in action on Mar. 15, when it hosts Wright State in Monroeville.
 
 
Saint Joseph's (4-2) def. Saint Francis (3-6), 4-3
 
Doubles
1. Pierre Brondeau/Kyle Chalmers (SJU) led Gervais/Tico (SFU), 7-6 (DNF)
2. Renier Moolman/Peter Dewitt (SJU) def. Carvajal/Foo-Kune (SFU), 8-2
3. Kevin Gates/Tristan Boustany (SJU) def. Barter/Avuski (SFU), 8-6
 
Order of finish: 2, *3
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. Gervais (SFU) def. Renier Moolman (SJU), 6-3, 5-7, 1-0(5)
2. Tico (SFU) def. Pierre Brondeau (SJU), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(6)
3. Kyle Chalmers (SJU) def. Foo-Kune (SFU), 6-0, 3-6, 1-0(5)
4. Tristan Boustany (SJU) def. Avuski (SFU), 7-6(3), 6-2
5. Cerdan (SFU) def. Kevin Gates (SJU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Peter Dewitt (SJU) def. Carvajal (SFU), 6-3, 6-2
 
Order of finish: 6, 3, 5, *4, 2, 1
*Clinched the match-winning point
 
 
Drexel (9-4) def. Saint Francis (3-7), 4-3
 
Doubles
1. Gervais/ Tico (SFU) def. Alex Fioravante/Xabier Saavedra (DU), 6-2
2. Kashyap Ashok/Dan Koehler (DU) def. Jimenez/Carvajal (SFU), 6-3
3. Badr Ouabdelmoumen/Daniel Hansen (DU) def. Barter/Foo-Kune (SFU), 7-5
 
Order of finish: 2, 1, *3
*Clinched the doubles point
 
Singles
1. Gervais (SFU) def. Badr Ouabdelmoumen (DU), 7-5, 6-4
2. Tico (SFU) def. Kashyap Ashok (DU), 6-2, 7-6(2)
3. Alex Fioravante (DU) def. Jimenez (SFU), 6-2, 6-1
4. Foo-Kune (SFU) def. Xabier Saavedra (DU), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
5. Hamza Laalej (DU) def. Cerdan (SFU), 6-2, 6-1
6. Dan Koehler (DU) def. Carvajal (SFU), 6-2, 7-5
 
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, *6, 4
*Clinched the match-winning point