MONROEVILLE, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's tennis team earned a 4-3 victory over Bucknell on Saturday at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.  The Red Flash picked up the doubles points and three singles wins.  SFU improved to 6-2 this season.
 
The Red Flash won the doubles point for the sixth time in eight matches.
 
At the top doubles spot, sophomore Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy (Md.)) and senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) matched up against Bryan Adams and Nick Bybel.  The Red Flash duo earned a 6-4 win.  Foo-Kune and Gervais are now 7-3 this season.
 
SFU clinched the point with a win at No. 3.  Junior Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) and freshman Jan Vit Suntar (Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) battled Max Haase and Andrei Vitiuc.  The SFU pair came out on top, 7-5, to move to 6-2 in dual matches.
 
Junior Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) and freshman Robin van der Heijden (Burgh Haamstede, Netherlands/Scheldmond College) competed at No. 2 against the Bison's Max Kane and Daniel Wright.  However, Tico and van der Heijden fell 6-3.

"This was a good win for us," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "Bucknell is a strong team and very well coached. I told the guys before the match that it was so important for us to come out in doubles with a lot of energy and focus, because I felt the doubles point would be crucial. It turned out to be the difference in the match, so I am happy that the guys listened and were ready to go from the first point until the last."
 
Foo-Kune matched up against Kane at the No. 2 singles spot.  The SFU sophomore earned a 6-4, 6-2 win to improve to 5-3 this spring.
 
At the fifth singles spot, Avuski took on Bucknell's Vitiuc.  The Red Flash junior picked up a 6-2, 7-5 victory.  He is now 4-2 in dual matches.
 
Junior Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) faced the Bison's Timber Erskine at the No. 6 position.  Cerdan won the first set, 6-3.  He came out on top, 7-6, in a tough second set, including a 7-3 win in the tiebreaker.  Cerdan clinched the match point and moved to 4-2 this spring.
 
At the No. 1 spot, Gervais suffered his first loss of the spring against Bybell.  The SFU senior fell 6-3, 6-4 and is now 7-1 this spring.
 
The freshman, Suntar, battled Wright at the No. 3 spot.  In a tight opening set, Wright claimed a 7-6 win, including 10-8 in the tiebreaker.  Suntar dropped the second set, 6-3, to move to 5-3 this spring.
 
Tico competed against Bucknell's Adams at No. 4.  After winning the first set, 7-5, Tico fell 6-4 in the second set.  In the deciding set, Adams won 6-4.  Tico is now 3-5 in dual matches.
 
"In singles, we still need to clean some things up and we need to become a more consistent team from top to bottom," said Castille. "With two weeks off before our next match, we will focus on this during practice and be ready for a top match with Saint Joseph's."

The Red Flash is back on the courts tomorrow for a 9:30 a.m. match against Temple at the Greensburg Racquet Club.  The Owls are 8-1 this season.
 
Doubles:
1. Foo-Kune/Gervais(SFU) def. Adams/Bybel(BU), 6-4.
2. Kane/Wright(BU) def. Tico/van der Heijden(SFU), 6-3.
3. Avuski/Suntar(SFU) def. Haase/Vitiuc(BU), 7-5.
Order of Finish: 2,1,3
 
Singles:
1. Bybel(BU) def. Gervais(SFU), 6-3, 6-4.
2. Foo-Kune(SFU) def. Kane(BU), 6-4, 6-2.
3. Wright(BU) def. Suntar(SFU), 7-6(8), 6-3.
4. Adams(BU) def. Tico(SFU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
5. Avuski(SFU) def. Vitiuc(BU), 6-2, 7-5.
6. Cerdan(SFU) def. Erskine(BU), 6-3, 7-6(3).
Order of Finish: 1,2,3,5,6,4