MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team got off to a strong start on the opening day of play at the seventh annual Saint Joseph's Men's Tennis Invitational on Friday afternoon.  Nine Hawks reached the semifinals of the two main doubles draws in their first action of the season.

In flight number one, three of the four semifinalist duos hail from SJU.  Senior Renier Moolman and junior Kyle Chalmers received a bye into the quarterfinals and made quick work of their opponents from Drexel, taking an 8-3 decision.  Also receiving a bye were senior Andres Urrea and sophomore Peter Dewitt; the pair earned an 8-6 win over a squad from Villanova.

Awaiting Urrea and Dewitt in the semifinals are senior Kevin Gates and junior Tristan Boustany, who won a pair of matches to reach the last four.  The two defeated a side from Lehigh in the first round, 8-3, before topping a duo from Old Dominion, 8-2, in the quarterfinals.

In the second flight, freshmen Andre Fick and Dan Tan reached the semifinals, as did senior Sam Cadwell.  Fick and Tan took an 8-5 result over opposition from Delaware before trouncing a partnership from Lehigh, 8-1, in the quarters.  Cadwell teamed up with Dan Harris of Penn to outlast a duo from Drexel, 9-8 (6), before cruising to an 8-3 win in the quarterfinals over a team from Old Dominion.

Senior Clark Ruiz and junior David Pagliarulo fell in the first round of the second flight to a pairing from Drexel, 8-1, before dropping an 8-2 result to a duo from Lehigh in the consolation draw.  Sophomores Grant Boyle and Nick Ringle succumbed to a Villanova pairing, 8-3, in the first round, and await a match in the semifinals of the consolation bracket.

Play resumes on Saturday morning with first round matches across four singles flights.  Updated draws can be found on the Tournament Central page throughout the weekend.