LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis University men's and women's tennis teams return to action for the 2021 season after nearly one year away from competition. The men open the season at Toledo on Friday at 1 p.m. while the women open at Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1:30 p.m. See the full spring schedule for the men HERE and the women HERE.

The men most recently lost to Carnegie Mellon 2-5 at home on February 29, 2020 in the last match before the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 season. The women lost to Eastern Michigan 2-5 on the same day.

"We are so fortunate to be back on the courts, and have the opportunity to have a season," said Head Coach Lisa Swope. "Having last spring cut short and no matches last fall, the teams are anxious to compete.  The women are young, with three new freshmen but they are eager for their first collegiate match. The men, having yet to complete a season after the team was reinstated, are more than ready to go, and adding two players to the roster gives us the depth we need to play a lot of matches and succeed."

FIVE NEWCOMERS ADD NEW TALENT
SFU tennis adds two newcomers on the men's roster and three on the women's roster. The men add junior transfer Matt Blose from Mount Aloysius and freshman Zachary Palko from the nearby town of Indiana. Blose brings a 45-7 record from his two years at Mount Aloysius after setting a school record in wins with 26 his freshman season. Palko was the singles conference champion in 2018-19 as a junior, leading his team to a conference championship as well.

The women add three freshmen to the roster in Marie Discini, Nagisa Miyake and Dominique Yeo. Discini is a three-time No. 1 singles state champion and a No. 1 doubles state champion from Marietta, Ohio. Miyake comes to Loretto from Aichi, Japan where she competed in international junior competitions. Yeo is an All-American, All-State, All-District and All-League selection from Leiden, Netherlands.

STRONG VETERAN PRESCENCE AMONG THE MEN
The men's roster boasts six returners, all with playing experience last spring. Samuel Ghigiarelli and Sebastian Pinos lead the way as seniors. Pinos served as captain in 2019-20 and played No. 1 singles and both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles as a junior. He was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team in 2017-18. Ghigiarelli played in all matches in 2019-20 in his first year as a member of the Red Flash following his graduation from a junior college.

Other returners include juniors Daniel Vinces and sophomores Christian Banti, Jordi Garcia and Andrew Teixeira.

JUNIOR DUO LOOKS TO LEAD WOMEN
Juniors Romina Cutipa and Anouk Ma-Ajong will look to lead the women's roster as they are joined by three freshmen. Both Cutipa and Ma-Ajong played in every match in 2019-20. Cutipa played at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles in 2019-20 as well as No. 4 singles. Ma-Ajong played at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles and No. 3 singles.

RED FLASH HOME COURT SCHEDULE
Saint Francis will play two matches at its home court in Ebensburg this season in addition to one match in Altoona. The Red Flash men and women host Mount St. Mary's on March 20 and Fairleigh Dickinson on March 27 in Ebensburg. The SFU men host Morgan State on February 7 in Altoona.
 
Follow Saint Francis Tennis on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash program.
 
To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.