PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team kicked off its spring semester with a pair of matches at the City 6 Tournament at Penn on Saturday. SJU topped Temple, 4-1, before falling to the host Quakers by a 6-1 score.
The Hawks received a bye to the semifinals, where they met the Owls in their first match of the day. Junior Renier Moolman and freshman Peter Dewitt teamed up for a doubles victory to give the Hawks an early lead, topping Ian Glessing and Vineet Naran, 6-2, 6-3.
In singles play, juniors Kevin Gates and Andres Urrea and sophomore Kyle Chalmers all earned straight-sets victories to lock up the win for SJU.
"It was a good start for the men's team over a strong Temple squad," said head coach Ian Crookenden. "Nerves played a part as Temple had a first-round win over Villanova under their belt, but determined and consistent play dominated the opponent's talent."
In the championship match, the Quakers took two out of the top three doubles tilts to get the first point, and then took five of the top six singles flights to come away with the title. Urrea was a winner in the fourth flight for SJU, while Moolman and Dewitt won their second doubles flight contest as well.
"Penn has a strong, deep squad, and playing on their home courts gave them an added advantage," Crookenden said. "But our squad played well, and the results bode well for a successful season."
Saint Joseph's heads to Saint Peter's for its next match on January 31.
Saint Joseph's 4, Temple 1
Doubles
1. Peter Dewitt / Renier Moolman (SJU) def. Ian Glessing / Vineet Naran (TU), 6-2, 6-3
Singles
1. Santiago Canete (TU) def. Pierre Brondeau (SJU), 6-1, 6-0
2. Kyle Chalmers (SJU) def. Nicolas Paulus (TU), 6-4, 6-0
3. Andres Urrea (SJU) def. Filip Stipcic (TU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Kevin Gates (SJU) def. Hicham Belkssir (TU), 7-5, 6-0
Game Scores
Singles: Saint Joseph's 38, Temple 24
Doubles: Saint Joseph's 12, Temple 5
Total: Saint Joseph's 50, Temple 29
Penn 6, Saint Joseph's 1
Doubles
1. Jeremy Court / Nicolas Podesta (UP) def. Chalmers / Urrea (SJU), 6-2
2. Dewitt / Moolman (SJU) def. Matt Nardella / Thomas Spratt (UP), 6-3
3. Austin Kaplan / Josh Pompan (UP) def. Brondeau / Gates (SJU), 6-1
4. Zach Lessen / Gabriel Rapoport (UP) def. Nick Ringle / Clark Ruiz (SJU), 6-4
Singles
1. Podesta (UP) def. Moolman (SJU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Court (UP) def. Brondeau (SJU), 6-4, 1-6, 10-7 (STB)
3. Pompan (UP) def. Chalmers (SJU), 6-0, 6-3
4. Urrea (SJU) def. Kaplan (UP), 7-5, 1-6, 11-9 (STB)
5. Ismael Lahlou (UP) def. Gates (SJU), 6-3, 6-0
6. Spratt (UP) def. Dewitt (SJU), 6-2, 7-5
7. Dan Harris (UP) def. Ruiz (SJU), 6-4, 6-3
8. Rapoport (UP) def. Grant Boyle (SJU), 6-1, 6-1
Game Scores
Singles: Penn 92, Saint Joseph's 45
Doubles: Penn 21, Saint Joseph's 13
Total: Penn 113, Saint Joseph's 58
