MONROEVILLE, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's tennis team fell 5-2 against Saint Joseph's on Monday at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville.  The Red Flash won the doubles point, but the Hawks won five of six singles matches.
 
Saint Francis won the doubles point for the seventh time this season, but lost the overall match for the first time when they won the doubles point.
 
At the top doubles spot, sophomore Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy (Md.)) and senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) earned a 6-4 win over the Hawks' Kyle Chalmers and Andre Fick.  The Red Flash duo improved to 8-2 this season.
 
Junior Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) and freshman Jan Vit Suntar (Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) competed at No. 2 against Tristan Boustany and Kevin Gates.  The SFU pair picked up a 6-3 victory to improve to 7-3 this spring.
 
At No. 3, junior Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) and freshman Robin van der Heijden (Burgh Haamstede, Netherlands/Scheldmond College) paired up for the first time this year to take on Peter Dewitt and Dan Tan. However, St. Joseph's won 6-3.
 
"I was pleased with the way we started off the match," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "The guys were focused and had a lot of energy in doubles. Winning the doubles point was important and I had hoped we would carry that momentum into singles. While I don't think we played poorly in singles, I think we didn't take advantage of many opportunities that we had. We were too passive on many of the big points and we have to be more aggressive, while still playing smart. A lot of credit to Saint Joseph's, who seized the chances they had."
 
Avuski faced the Hawks' Fick at No. 4 singles.  The junior dropped the first set, 6-4, but bounced back to win the second set, 6-4.  In the deciding set, Avuski won 6-4.  He is now 5-3 this spring.  
 
Gervais competed at the top singles spot against Renier Moolman.  The SFU senior claimed the first set, 6-3, but dropped the second set, 7-5.  In a tough deciding set, Gervais fell 7-6, with a 7-5 tiebreaker.  He is now 7-3 this year.
 
At the No. 2 position, Foo-Kune matched up against Chambers.  The Red Flash sophomore fell 7-5 in the first round, but responded by winning a 7-5 set of his own.  However, Chambers won the final set, 6-4.
 
Suntar battled SJU's Boustany at the No. 3 spot.  However, Suntar fell 6-2, 6-4 and is now 6-4 in dual matches.
 
At No. 5, Cerdan took on Gates.  However, Cerdan dropped a 6-4, 6-1 decision.
 
At the sixth spot, van der Heijden competed against the Hawks' Dewitt.  The SFU freshman dropped the first set, 7-5, but bounced back to claim the next set, 7-5.  In a super-tiebreaker third set, Dewitt won 10-3.
 
"This is a match we will learn from and be better because of it," said Castille. "To be a great team, we have to be bold during the big moments. We'll focus on this more this week and prepare to play again this weekend."
 
The Red Flash returns to action on Saturday, March 12 as it takes on Hartford at 3 p.m. at The Club Sport and Health.  The following day, SFU faces St. Bonaventure at 3 p.m., also in Monroeville.
 
Doubles:
1. Foo-Kune/Gervais(SFU) def. Chalmers/Fick(SJU), 6-4.
2. Avuski/Suntar(SFU) def. Boustany/Gates(SJU), 6-3.
3. Dewitt/Tan(SJU) def. Cerdan/van der Heijden(SFU), 6-3.
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
 
Singles:
1. Moolman(SJU) def. Gervais(SFU), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5).
2. Chalmers(SJU) def. Foo-Kune(SFU), 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
3. Boustany(SJU) def. Suntar(SFU), 6-2, 6-4.
4. Avuski(SFU) def. Fick(SJU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
5. Gates(SJU) def. Cerdan(SFU), 6-4, 6-1.
6. Dewitt(SJU) def. van der Heijden(SFU), 5-7, 7-5, (10-3).
Order of Finish: 3,2,1,4,5,6