GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's tennis team fell, 6-1, against Temple on Sunday at the Greensburg Racquet Club.  The Red Flash won one match each in doubles and singles action.  SFU is now 6-3 this spring, while Temple improved to 9-1.
 
At the top doubles spot, sophomore Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy (Md.)) and senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) battled Temple's Hicham Belkssir and Vineet Naran.  The Red Flash duo earned a 7-5 win to improve to 8-3 this spring.
 
Junior Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) and freshman Robin van der Heijden (Burgh Haamstede, Netherlands/Scheldmond College) competed at No. 2 against Artem Kapshuk and Nicolas Paulus.  However, the SFU duo dropped a 6-1 decision.
 
At No. 3, junior Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) and freshman Jan Vit Suntar (Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) matched up against the Owls' Uladzimir Dorash and Florian Mayer.  The Red Flash pair fell 6-2.

"Temple is a very strong team and I knew we needed to compete and play at a very high level," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "Our doubles, which has been pretty solid, was a little off today and, unfortunately, that cost us the doubles point."
 
Suntar took on Temple's Paulus at the No. 3 singles position.  The SFU freshman claimed the first set, 6-4.  Suntar repeated his performance in the second set, winning 6-4, to complete the straight-set victory.  He is now 6-3 this spring.
 
At the top singles spot, Gervais battled Kapshuk.  In the opening set, Gervais won 6-3.  However, Kapshuk took the next set, 6-2.  In the deciding set, Kapshuk won 6-4.  Gervais suffered his second loss of the spring and the weekend after starting the year 7-0. 
 
Foo-Kune matched up at No. 2 against the Owls' Santiago Canete.  The SFU sophomore won the first set, 6-4.  In a tough second set, Canete came out on top, 7-6, including 8-6 in the tiebreaker.  In the final set, Canete won 6-3.  Foo-Kune is 5-4 in dual matches. 
 
At No. 4, Tico competed against Temple's Dorash, but fell 6-0, 6-3.  Avuski faced Mayer at No. 5, but dropped a 6-2, 6-1 result.
 
Junior Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) took on Belkssir at No. 6, but fell 6-0, 6-3.

"In singles, our 1-3 competed very well," said Castille. "Even though we lost two of the three matches, I was happy with how the guys performed. I know our 4-6 guys can be better. They are going to have to be moving forward, because we have a lot of tough matches coming up. But I will challenge them and the rest of the guys these next two weeks and we'll be ready to face a good Saint Joseph's team."
 
The Red Flash returns to action on Monday, March 7 for a 1 p.m. match vs. St. Joseph's at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville, Pa.
 
Doubles:
1. Foo-Kune/Gervais(SFU) def. Belkssir/Naran(TU), 7-5.
2. Kapshuk/Paulus(TU) def. Tico/van der Heijden(SFU), 6-1.
3. Dorash/Mayer(TU) def. Avuski/Suntar(SFU), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
 
Singles:
1. Kapshuk(TU) def. Gervais(SFU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
2. Canete(TU) def. Foo-Kune(SFU), 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3.
3. Suntar(SFU) def. Paulus(TU), 6-4, 6-4.
4. Dorash(TU) def. Tico(SFU), 6-0, 6-3.
5. Mayer(TU) def. Avuski(SFU), 6-2, 6-1.
6. Belkssir(TU) def. Cerdan(SFU), 6-0, 6-3.
Order of Finish: 3,1,2,4,5,6