April 15, 2011

#8 Saint Joseph's 4, #9 Dayton 2 (Results)
#1 George Washington 4, #8 Saint Joseph's 0 (Results)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The eighth-seeded Saint Joseph's men's tennis team kicked off the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship on Friday with a 4-2 win over ninth-seeded Dayton in the First Round. Unfortunately for the Hawks, George Washington, the tournament's top seed, was able to end SJU's run in the main draw with a 4-0 quarterfinal win.

In the first round tilt, the Hawks took both completed doubles matches to earn the point before a back and forth battle ensued in singles play.

Alex Veronis was a straight-sets winner, 6-0, 6-2, over Robert Salcedo in the top flight while Kristian Broaddus took down his sixth-flight opponent, Sean Bandy, 6-4, 6-2, to give the Hawks a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Flyers battled back, winning three-set matches in both the fourth and fifth flights to claw back to within a point before Tommy Gates shut the door with a come-from-behind 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 win in the third flight to put the Hawks into the quarterfinals.

Against George Washington, the Hawks were not able to muster much success in the doubles matches, falling by scores of 8-1 and 8-0 in the second and third flights, respectively. IN singles play, the Colonials got straight-sets wins in the first, third, and fifth sets to move on to the semifinals.

SJU now slides into the consolation bracket, where the Hawks will take on fifth-seeded St. Bonaventure on Saturday morning. The winner will play on Sunday morning for fifth place, while the loser will compete for seventh.