April 14, 2011

2011 Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship Bracket (PDF)

Tournament Central

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team is seeded eighth in this weekend's Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship, and the Hawks are set to begin play at 9:00 a.m. on Friday at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Hawks will face off with #9-seed Dayton on Friday, with the winner moving on to a 3:00 p.m. date with top seed George Washington. The Hawks and Flyers met this past Saturday, April 9, with SJU topping Dayton, 6-1.

The Hawks will rely on a much-improved doubles game and consistent play in the singles flights in their attempt to bring home the conference championship.

SJU will send juniors Peter Cognetti and Jeff Kessler out in the first doubles flight, with sophomore Alex Veronis and freshman Dan Barrus holding down flight number two and sophomores Kristian Broaddus and Tommy Gates settling in at number three.

Cognetti and Kessler have been a successful pairing in their time on Hawk Hill, playing together in the top two flights in each of the past three seasons. Veronis and Barrus teamed up this spring, as did Broaddus and Gates, and the partnerships have begun to cement their status as formidable foes for Hawk opponents as the season has gone on.

In singles play, Veronis has held down the top spot for the Hawks, notching nine top-flight wins on the season. Kessler will follow in the second flight, while Gates has come on strong late in the season at number three, posting eight wins in the flight.

Cognetti has seen most of the time at number four singles and will likely hold down that spot in St. Louis. Barrus has had a remarkable freshman season, earning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors on March 21, and will be SJU's fifth singles player. Broaddus has seen his first consistent action as a Hawk this spring and his record in the flight sits at a solid 8-8 on the year.

The winner of the SJU-Dayton tilt advances to the quarterfinals, where top-seeded GW awaits. Also receiving byes are second-seeded Xavier, #3-seed Temple, and fourth-seeded Duquesne.

Other first round matchups feature St. Bonaventure (#5) against Fordham (#12), Charlotte (#6) vs. La Salle (#11), and Richmond (#7) taking on Saint Louis (#10).

The teams will play down to four in the main bracket on Friday, with the last two quarterfinals beginning at 6:00 p.m. Consolation play begins Saturday morning, with the championship semifinals taking place at noon and 3:00 p.m. On Sunday, the championship match is set to begin at noon.

Live stats and up-to-the-minute updates will be available on the Atlantic 10 Tournament Central page at www.Atlantic10.com.