BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to Lehigh on Sunday.  The Red Flash could not win the doubles point and were downed in four singles matches.  The Red Flash suffered its first loss of the season to drop to 4-1.  The Mountain Hawks are now 2-0 this spring.
 
The Red Flash lost the doubles point for the first time this spring.
 
At the top doubles spot, sophomore Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy (Md.)) and senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) competed against Lehigh's Jeremy Kochman and Graham Lehman, but fell 6-4.
 
Junior Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) and freshman Jan Vit Suntar (Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) paired up at the No. 2 spot against Bryant Born and George Cooper.  However, the Red Flash duo dropped a 6-4 match.
 
In the third doubles match, juniors Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) and Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) matched up against Christopher Auteri and Jack Petersen.  The SFU pair fell 6-2.
 
Gervais competed at the top singles spot against Lehigh's Kochman.  The Red Flash senior took the first set, 6-3.  He completed the straight-set win, 6-4.  Gervais improved to 5-0 this spring, with all of his wins coming at the No. 1 position.
 
At the No. 5 position, Avuski faced Cooper.  After dropping the first set, 6-1, Avuski bounced back with a 6-4 set win.  In the deciding set, the SFU junior won 10-5.  He is now 3-0 this spring.
 
At the No. 2 position, Foo-Kune took on the Mountain Hawks' Born.  In a tight opening set, Born won 7-6, including 7-4 in the tiebreaker.  However, Foo-Kune responded by winning the next set, 6-4.  In a tough final set, Foo-Kune fell 7-5.  He is now 3-2 this spring.
 
The freshman, Suntar, matched up at the third singles spot against Petersen.  The SFU freshman dropped a 6-4, 7-5 result.  Suntar suffered his first dual match loss.
 
Tico faced Lehigh's Auteri at the fourth position.  After dropping the first set, 6-4, Tico bounced back to win the following set, 6-3.  In the deciding set, Tico fell 6-2. He is now 3-2 in dual matches.
 
Cerdan lined up at the sixth spot against Mountain Hawks' Tyler Hansen.  However, Cerdan dropped a 6-4, 7-5 decision.  Cerdan also suffered his first loss of the spring and is now 3-1.

"I was pleased with how our men competed today," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "Lehigh is a very strong and well-coached team. I think the biggest thing we can take away from this match is that you can't hope that your opponent is going to miss or give you anything. We can't play scared in the big moments. We have to learn to close things out when the opportunity is presented. So while losing is not as much fun as winning, I think this will end up being a good thing for us and will help us out during the rest of the season."
 
The Red Flash opens its home schedule next weekend.  SFU welcomes Youngstown State on Friday for a 1 p.m. match at the Ebensburg Tennis Center.  The Red Flash then host Carnegie Mellon on Saturday for a 3:45 p.m. battle at Club Sport and Health in Monroeville, Pa.
 
Doubles:
1. Kochman/Lehman(LU) def. Foo-Kune/Gervais(SFU), 6-4.
2. Born/Cooper(LU) def. Avuski/Suntar(SFU), 6-4.
3. Auteri/Petersen(LU) def. Cerdan/Tico(SFU), 6-2.
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
 
Singles:
1. Gervais(SFU) def. Kochman(LU), 6-3, 6-4.
2. Born(LU) def. Foo-Kune(SFU), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5.
3. Petersen(LU) def. Suntar(SFU), 6-4, 7-5.
4. Auteri(LU) def. Tico(SFU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.  
5. Avuski(SFU) def. Cooper(LU), 1-6, 6-4, 10-5.
6. Hansen(LU) def. Cerdan(SFU), 6-4, 7-5.
Order of Finish: 1,3,4,2,5,6