Flash Points:

• SFU men's tennis fell 6-1 at Youngstown State on Saturday.
• The Red Flash won a doubles and a singles match.
• Freshman Franz Luna (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Laurel Springs) improved to 5-0 this spring with a singles win at No. 2.
• SFU is now 3-2 this Spring.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Saint Francis men's tennis team suffered a 6-1 setback at Youngstown State on Saturday.  The Red Flash won one doubles and one singles match.  SFU is now 3-2 this Spring, while YSU improved to 4-0.
 
At No. 3 doubles, seniors Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria /Math High School ) and Eli Cerdan (Bloomfield, N.J. /Saint Mary High School) competed against YSU's Gabriel Tolesani and Pol Virgili Blanco.  The Red Flash duo earned a 6-2 victory.
 
Junior Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy (Md.)) and senior Rodrigo Tico (Guadalajara, Mexico/Colegio de Bachilleres) combined at the top doubles spot against Mitch Maroscher and Thomas Rodrigues.  The SFU pair fell 6-3 and is now 3-2 in dual matches.
 
Freshman Franz Luna (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Laurel Springs) and sophomore Robin van der Heijden (Burgh Haamstede, Netherlands/Scheldmond College) paired up at No. 2 against Joao Garreto and Matthew Kritzinger.  In a tight match, Luna and van der Heijden fell 7-6, including 7-3 in the tiebreaker.  The pair is 2-3 this spring.
 
Luna met Kritzinger at the second singles spot.  The Red Flash rookie claimed the first set, 6-4.  Kritzinger responded by winning the next set, 6-3.  In a super-tiebreaker third set, Luna came out on top, 10-6.  Luna improved to 5-0 this spring and 12-3 overall.
 
At the top singles spot, Foo-Kune fell 6-4, 6-4 against the Penguins' Maroscher and is now 2-3 this spring.  Tico dropped a 6-1, 6-2 decision at No. 3 against Rodrigues to move to 2-3 in dual matches.
 
Avuski competed against YSU's Garreto at No. 4, but fell 6-0, 6-3 and is now 2-2 this spring.  At No. 5, van der Heijden suffered a 6-1, 6-2 setback against Tolesani and is 1-1 this spring.
 
At No. 6, Cerdan met Luke Purser.  The SFU senior took the first set, 6-4, but Purser won the second set, 6-2.  In the super-tiebreaker set, Purser won 10-4.  Cerdan is 1-1 this spring.

"I was very disappointed in our effort today," said Head Coach Rob Castille. "Youngstown State is a very good and talented team and we needed to show up today and compete hard. We simply did not do that. Credit to YSU as they played a solid match from top to bottom. But we need to show up and be ready to work and grind from the very first point to the last. We needed to be mentally tough and stay positive to fight through tough times in the match. This wasn't the case today, which is why I am disappointed in us as a team today. We'll learn from this, put this behind us and hopefully be better because of this."
 
The Red Flash returns to action on Saturday, February 11 when it meets Carnegie Mellon at The Club Sport and Health in Monroeville, Pa.
 
Doubles:
1. Maroscher/Rodrigues(YSU) def. Foo-Kune/Tico(SFU), 6-3.
2. Garreto/Kritzinger(YSU) def. Luna/van der Heijden(SFU), 7-6(3).
3. Avuski/Cerdan(SFU) def. Tolesani/Virgili Blanco(YSU), 6-2.
 
Singles:
1. Maroscher(YSU) def. Foo-Kune(SFU), 6-4, 6-4.
2. Luna(SFU) def. Kritzinger(YSU), 6-4, 6-3.
3. Rodrigues(YSU) def. Tico(SFU), 6-1, 6-2.
4. Garreto(YSU) def. Avuski(SFU), 6-0, 6-3.
5. Tolesani(YSU) def. van der Heijden(SFU), 6-1, 6-2.
6. Purser(YSU) def. Cerdan(SFU), 4-6, 6-2, 10-4.