MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team played its first outdoor home match of the season on Friday afternoon, but fell to Atlantic 10 rival Richmond by a 4-0 score at the SJU Tennis Complex.
The Spiders grabbed the early advantage in doubles play, taking a pair of 6-2 wins in the second and third flights to secure the point.
The Hawks battled back in singles play, forcing three matches into a third set, but ultimately Richmond claimed the three points needed to win the match. Sophomores Nathan Perrone and Johnnie Massart were in the final set in the first and third flights, respectively, when play was halted; Perrone was level in his contest while Massart had opened a 4-1 lead in the third set.
“The energy and grit we had in singles play is what we missed in doubles,” assistant coach Marc Pibernat said. “Unfortunately, we are not a team where doubles is our strength, and because of that we need to balance it with a lot of energy from the players that are on the court and the ones that are off the court supporting; that's the only way we will will have a shot at winning the doubles point.
“Other than that, the overall result of the match does not reflect what happened on the court, as three of the six singles matches went to three sets, and two of them did not finish due to the weather conditions that we had to face earlier and delayed match play,” Pibernat said. “Tomorrow we have the toughest match of the season at Monmouth, and it is a great opportunity for our team to step it up to the next level.”
The Hawks will have a chance to rebound on Saturday; play at Monmouth is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.
Richmond 4, Saint Joseph's 0
Doubles
1. Matt Fernandez / Josh Keitelman (UR) led Andre Fick / Nathan Perrone (SJU), 5-3
2. Campbell Erwin / Klein Evans (UR) def. Scott Battaglia / Alex MacNeil (SJU), 6-2
3. George Lovitt / John Walsh (UR) def. Eshan Kanetkar / Dan Tan (SJU), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Perrone (SJU) tied with Fernandez (UR), 4-6, 6-4, 1-1
2. Fick (SJU) led Evans (UR), 7-6 (5), 0-5
3. Johnnie Massart (SJU) led Brice Polender (UR), 1-6, 6-1, 4-1
4. Lovitt (UR) def. Tan (SJU), 6-1, 6-3
5. Walsh (UR) def. Kanetkar (SJU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
6. Erwin (UR) def. Luis Janko (SJU), 6-1, 3-0, retired
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 5
Game Scores
Singles: Richmond 67, Saint Joseph's 45
Doubles: Richmond 17, Saint Joseph's 7
Total: Richmond 84, Saint Joseph's 52
