DAYTON, Ohio – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team wrapped up its weekend pair of conference matches with a 4-0 defeat at Dayton on Sunday morning.
The Flyers ran out to an early lead in doubles play, claiming both the second and third flights. Senior Andre Fick and sophomore Nathan Perrone were locked in a tight battle in the top flight, tied at 5-5, when the match was halted.
As singles got underway, the hosts extended their lead with a win in the fourth flight. In the third flight, sophomore Johnnie Massart won the first set, but Spencer Richey came back for a three-set win to give Dayton a 3-0 lead.
The match ended soon after as Perrone dropped a three-setter in the first flight to Jordan Benjamin. The Flyers also led in the other three flights when the match was clinched.
“It was a positive weekend for the Hawks,” assistant coach Marc Pibernat said. “Today, especially in the first four positions of the lineup, it was a great fight against one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10, and in both doubles and singles we had a shot at winning. The energy and chemistry the team had this weekend is what we need in order to be competitive.
“Now the outdoor season starts and we need to take full advantage since that's where our team feels more comfortable playing,” Pibernat said. “We are definitely coming back from Ohio stronger than when we arrived, which is a very good sign for what's coming next for us.”
The Hawks are idle until they head to Orlando, Florida, for a trio of matches against Creighton, Merrimack, and Fairleigh Dickinson, beginning on March 13.
Dayton 4, Saint Joseph's 0
Doubles
1. Andre Fick / Nathan Perrone (SJU) vs. Jordan Benjamin / Spencer Richey (UD), 5-5
2. Langford Hills / Steven Karl (UD) def. Alex MacNeil / Dan Tan (SJU), 6-1
3. Joe DeMarco / Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD) def. Eshan Kanetkar / Johnnie Massart (SJU), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. Benjamin (UD) def. Perrone (SJU), 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
2. Hills (UD) led Fick (SJU), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 5-3
3. Richey (UD) def. Massart (SJU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
4. Karl (UD) def. Tan (SJU), 6-0, 6-3
5. DeMarco (UD) led Janko (SJU), 6-1, 5-2
6. Rollhauser (UD) led Kanetkar (SJU), 6-1, 2-0
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1
Game Scores
Singles: Dayton 80, Saint Joseph's 48
Doubles: Dayton 17, Saint Joseph's 10
Total: Dayton 97, Saint Joseph's 58
