MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team opened up a three-match homestand on Tuesday afternoon, but the Hawks ultimately fell to Morgan State, 5-2, at the SJU Tennis Complex.

Morgan State (6-4) took the early lead by securing the doubles point with wins in the first two flights. Peter Dewitt and Luis Janko earned a positive result for SJU, cruising to a 6-1 win in the third flight, but the Bears would win the second flight in a tiebreaker to lock down the point.

Saint Joseph's (4-9) leveled the match with a result in the fourth singles flight as Andre Fick notched a 6-4, 6-4 win over Oguzhan Ceylan. Unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, four consecutive singles wins powered MSU to the overall victory.

Tim Stierle wrapped up the day's play with a win, however, battling back for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Lucas Krusinski in the top singles flight.

“It was a very good match against a strong, competitive opponent,” head coach Ian Crookenden said. “We will get stronger as a result of this fight.”

The Hawks will take a day off before hosting Villanova on Thursday at 3:00 p.m.

Morgan State 5, Saint Joseph's 2

Doubles
1. Oguzhan Ceylan / Sebastian Lopez (MSU) def. Alexander Schneider / Tim Stierle (SJU), 6-4
2. Shrey Gupta / Nihit Rawal (MSU) def. Andre Fick / Nick Ringle (SJU), 7-6 (4)
3. Peter Dewitt / Luis Janko (SJU) def. Serhii Kharchev / Lucas Krusinski (MSU), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles
1. Stierle (SJU) def. Krusinski (MSU), 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
2. Gupta (MSU) def. Beekman Schaeffer (SJU), 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (4)
3. Lopez (MSU) def. Dewitt (SJU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Fick (SJU) def. Ceylan (MSU), 6-4, 6-4
5. Rawal (MSU) def. Michael Santa Lucia (SJU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Kharchev (MSU) def. Dan Tan (SJU), 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6, 2, 4, 1

Game Scores
Singles: Morgan State 71, Saint Joseph's 59
Doubles: Saint Joseph's 16, Morgan State 14
Total: Morgan State 85, Saint Joseph's 75