WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Saint Francis men's tennis team had an impressive start to its spring season, defeating Howard, 7-0, on Friday.  The Red Flash took the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and 3 spots before sweeping the singles action, with five of six wins coming in straight sets.
 
Senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) and sophomore Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy (Md.)) combined at the top doubles spot for a 6-3 win over Howard's Ismael Kaouache and William Jones III. 
 
At the third spot, junior Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) and freshman Jan Vit Suntar (Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) paired up against the Bison's Spencer Kelly and Hawkins Owens IV.  The Red Flash duo earned a 6-2 victory.
 
In the match at No. 2 doubles, junior Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) and freshman Robin van der Heijden (Burgh Haamstede, Netherlands/Scheldmond College) teamed up, but fell 7-5 against Myron Davis and Laguna Foster, Jr.
 
"Overall, I was pleased with how the guys competed and played today," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "We got things rolling by taking two of the three doubles matches and didn't let up in singles."
 
At the top singles position, Gervais battled the Bison's Kaouache.  The senior won the opening set, 6-3, and followed that with a 6-0 victory in the second set to earn a straight set win. 
 
Foo-Kune also earned a three-set win, claiming his at the No. 2 position.  He defeated Jones III, 6-1, in the first set.  In the second set, Jones III won 6-4.  Foo-Kune bounced back to win the tiebreaker third set, 10-8.  Foo-Kune picked up his fifth overall win this year.
 
The junior, Tico, competed at the No. 3 position against Davis.  In the first set, Tico won 6-4.  He continued his momentum into the second set, winning 6-1, to sweep the match.  Tico improved to 6-3 overall.
 
In his first dual meet as a Red Flash, Suntar earned a 6-4, 6-1 win at the fourth spot, defeating Howard's Foster, Jr.  Suntar is now 5-3 overall.
 
Junior Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) took on the Bison's Owens IV at the No. 5 position.  After winning the first set, 6-1, Cerdan repeated his performance to win the second set, 6-2.  Cerdan picked up his fourth overall victory.
 
At the sixth spot, van der Heijden matched up against Kelly.  After dropping the first set, 6-3, the Netherlands native bounced back to win a tough second set, 7-6, taking the set tiebreaker,  7-4.  With the overall match point already clinched, van der Heijden won the super-tiebreaker third set, 11-9.  He is now 3-3 overall.

"Howard is a solid team so we knew we had to be focused and compete at our best," said Castille. "It's never easy to win all 6 singles matches so I am proud of the guys. There are areas that we need to improve in and we will have to be better when we face a tough Navy team tomorrow. I know the guys are up for the challenge so I am looking forward to the match."
 
The Red Flash is back in action on Saturday for a 6 p.m. match against the Midshipmen. 
 
Doubles:
1. Gervais/Foo-Kune(SFU) def. Kaouache/Jones III(Howard), 6-3.
2. Davis/Foster, Jr.(Howard) def. Tico/van der Heijden(SFU), 7-5.
3. Avuski/Suntar(SFU) def. Kelly/Owens IV(Howard), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
 
Singles:
1. Gervais(SFU) def. Kaouache(Howard), 6-3, 6-0.
2. Foo-Kune(SFU) def. Jones III(Howard), 6-1, 4-6, (10-8).
3. Tico(SFU) def. Davis(Howard), 6-4, 6-1.
4. Suntar(SFU) def. Foster, Jr.(Howard), 6-4, 6-1.
5. Cerdan(SFU) def. Owens IV(Howard), 6-1, 6-2.
6. van der Heijden(SFU) def. Kelly(Howard), 3-6, 7-6(4), 11-9.
Order of Finish: 1,3,2,4,5,6