Men's Tennis | 3/31/2026 7:00:00 AM

WEEKEND PREVIEW 
As the 2026 spring slate winds down, the Saint Francis men's tennis team looks to get back on track with a midweek matchup against Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday, April 1, at 2 p.m. at the Mount St. Mary's Tennis Courts in Emmitsburg, Md.

LAST TIME OUT  
The Saint Francis men's tennis team lost to Mercyhurst, 5-2, on Friday night. Despite dropping the doubles point, the duo of Kevin Titus Suresh and Jonah Ng battled to a tight 7-5 decision. Meanwhile, freshman Mario Beckles secured a hard-fought three-set victory in singles, marking his 13th win of the season.

OPENING SERVE VS MOUNT ST. MARY'S
Entering the 2026 spring slate, the Mountaineers were picked to finish seventh out of nine teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. As of this writing, Mount St. Mary's holds an overall record of 4-9. Freshman Stefanos Pournaropoulos currently leads the team with eight victories this season.

THE LAST TIME WE MET ON THE COURT 
Saint Francis last faced Mount St. Mary's during the 2024 season, when it narrowly earned a 4-3 victory over the Mountaineers.

HEAD TO HEAD 
In the all-time head-to-head matchup between these two programs, Saint Francis leads the series 11-9 in 20 total meetings on the court.

NEXT SERVE 
Saint Francis men's tennis returns to action next weekend on Saturday, April 11, concluding NEC play against Stonehill at the Charles Watt Tennis Courts in North Easton, Mass., with a start time of 2 p.m.

AT THE HELM 
As head coach, Hovan continues his fifth season in Loretto. Very few words can describe his career other than "successful," as he's helped both the men's and women's teams reach new heights. In 2023-24, he was named NEC Coach of the Year after helping the men reach their second NEC Championship Game. Last season, the women's tennis team made the NEC Championship Game for the first time in program history.

PRESEASON POLL
After finishing 6-13 and placing seventh in conference play, the Saint Francis men's tennis team was selected to finish seventh in the NEC preseason poll, which includes nine teams. Binghamton topped the poll with seven first-place votes, followed by Fairleigh Dickinson at No. 2, which received the remaining two first-place votes.

THE KINGS COURT
Men's tennis sophomore and reigning Rookie of the Year Kevin Titus Suresh has been dominant this 2025-26 season, proving why he has earned the nickname "The King." In the fall, Suresh posted a team-high 10-6 record across six tournaments, positioning himself for a chance to claim his first NEC Singles Championship, which earned him a spot in the ITA Masters in San Diego in early November. So far during the spring, he leads the team with a 19-11 record in singles and a 13-13 record in doubles.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK 
While the Red Flash retained many key players from last year's quarterfinal team, Coach Hovan and assistant coach Palko added four first-year players: Mario Beckles (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown Regional), Luke Mitchell (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area), Jonah Ng (Fairview, Pa./Pennsylvania Cyber), and Deven Pandey (Bethlehem, Pa./Saucon Valley High School).