Feb. 15, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team split a pair of matches this weekend, falling at the Naval Academy, 7-0, before defeating Richmond in a thrilling home match at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center, 4-3. The Hawks are now 3-3 on the spring.

On Saturday, SJU traveled to Annapolis to take on the U.S. Naval Academy. The Midshipmen cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Hawks, taking the doubles point and all six singles matches. The pair of freshmen Jeff Kessler and Peter Cognetti was the only SJU entry to win its match, defeating the Navy pair 8-6 at number three doubles.

Sunday's match was a different story, however, as the Hawks took the doubles point by winning the first- and third-flight matches. In singles play, the two schools split the fifth and sixth flights, with Matt Prusack victorious for the Hawks at number five. Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Spiders rallied to a victory at number four to knot the match. Senior captain Pat Adams won the number one singles match in three sets to nudge the Hawks back on top before another three-setter in the second flight earned a point for the Spiders.

With the match result riding on the outcome of the number three match between SJU's Michael Stauble and Richmond's Rafa Arana, the Hawk junior did not disappoint. After the pair split the first two sets, both in tiebreakers, and were even at 3-3 in the third, Stauble held serve to take a 4-3 lead. He then broke Arana's serve in the next game before holding serve once again to take the set and the match.

"The team came of age in this match," said head coach Ian Crookenden. "With wins from senior Pat Adams and juniors Mike Stauble and Matt Prusack, the team showed great poise and competitiveness. This was a match to take and we did not falter.

"We have set a benchmark for the rest of the season and today's win sent a message that Saint Joseph's men's tennis is very much alive and well, despite the setbacks we've been dealt with injuries," Crookenden said.

The "alive and well" Hawks return to action next Wednesday, February 25, at Penn at 4:00 p.m.

Navy 7, Saint Joseph's 0

Singles
1. Nate Nelms (USNA) def. Pat Adams (SJU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Marcus Rebersak (USNA) def. Phil Bayliss (SJU), 7-5, 6-1
3. Jason Hill (USNA) def. Michael Stauble (SJU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Ramsey Lemaich (USNA) def. Jeff Kessler (SJU), 6-3, 6-4
5. Owen Bullard (USNA) def. Matt Prusack (SJU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Jeremy New (USNA) def. Peter Cognetti (SJU), 6-2, 6-3

Doubles
1. Nelms/Johnny Waters (USNA) def. Bayliss/Stauble (SJU), 8-5
2. Bullard/Lemaich (USNA) def. Adams/Prusack (SJU), 9-7
3. Kessler/Cognetti (SJU) def. Hill/Zach Nicholson (USNA), 8-6

Saint Joseph's 4, Richmond 3

Singles
1. Adams (SJU) def. Sami Belakhlef (UR), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
2. Will Minter (UR) def. Bayliss (SJU), 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6)
3. Stauble (SJU) def. Rafa Arana (UR), 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3
4. Matt Feeley (UR) def. Kessler (SJU), 6-4, 7-5
5. Prusack (SJU) def. A.J. Nelson (UR), 6-3, 6-4
6. Sam Hyland (UR) def. Cognetti (SJU), 6-4, 6-4

Doubles
1. Bayliss/Stauble (SJU) def. Belakhlef/Hyland (UR), 8-4
2. Arana/Nelson (UR) def. Adams/Prusack (SJU), 8-3
3. Kessler/Cognetti (SJU) def. Minter/Feeley (UR), 8-5