The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team opened the spring portion of its slate with a pair of matches this weekend.  The Hawks opener with a win over Siena on Friday night before falling at Navy on Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Hawks jumped out to an early lead on Friday night, as Nickolas Frisk and Johnnie Massart earned a 6-3 win in the second doubles flight before Eshan Kanetkar and Nathan Perrone secured the point with a 7-6 (4) win in the first.
 
• Perrone and Frisk staked the Hawks to a 3-0 lead with wins in the top two singles flights.  Perrone beat Sagar Bains, 6-2, 6-4, in the first, while Frisk was a 6-4, 6-4 straight-sets winner in the second against Tomas del Olmo.
 
• The Saints earned wins in the third and fourth flights, but a fifth-flight win by Kanetkar – 7-6 (6), 6-2 over Geovanny Mendoza – and a 6-2, 2-6, 10-6 supertiebreaker victory by Alex MacNeil in the sixth gave the Hawks a 5-2 overall triumph.
 
• Francesco Mowrey and Sam Sauter combined for a 6-4 win in the third doubles flight on Saturday, but the host Midshipmen won the top two flights to take the early lead.
 
• Mowrey made it two-for-two with a 2-6, 6-2, 10-6 supertiebreaker win in the third singles flight, and Luis Janko would add a gutsy 2-6, 7-6 (4), 11-9 supertiebreaker victory in the sixth, but the hosts took four matches to secure the 5-2 victory.
 
HAWK TALK
• "It was a great start to the season with an important win for us," assistant coach Marc Pibernat said after Friday's win.  "It feels good to start on a good note and play good tennis.  It was not an easy match at all, being so late at night, but the guys put their heads down and they went to work.  A special mention to Alex MacNeil, who played for the first time in the lineup, and got his first dual match college win in singles."
 
• "Overall it was definitely a good weekend for us," Pibernat said on Saturday.  "However, against strong teams like Navy, we know that we must do pretty much everything perfect for us to win, which unfortunately was not the case today as we did not take care of small details that make a huge difference in the outcome.  A special mention to our captain, Luis Janko, for his incredible comeback from being down 2-6, 2-5 to end up winning the second set and then the match in a tiebreak.  We will go back to work on Monday to be better prepared to face Quinnipiac next Saturday."
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will return to the Springton Indoor Tennis Club on Saturday, February 8, for a matchup against Quinnipiac.

RESULTS

Saint Joseph's 5, Siena 2
 
Doubles
1. Eshan Kanetkar / Nathan Perrone (SJU) def. Tomas del Olmo / Guillermo Lopez Torres (Siena), 7-6 (4)
2. Nickolas Frisk / Johnnie Massart (SJU) def. Alexandros Giannakitsidis / Cameron Kirkwood (Siena), 6-3
3. Sagar Bains / Matt Nardone (Siena) def. Francesco Mowrey / Sam Sauter (SJU), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
 
Singles
1. Perrone (SJU) def. Bains (Siena), 6-2, 6-4
2. Frisk (SJU) def. del Olmo (Siena), 6-4, 6-4
3. Lopez Torres (Siena) def. Mowrey (SJU), 7-5, 6-4
4. Muhammad Sawani (Siena) def. Massart (SJU), 6-4, 6-4
5. Kanetkar (SJU) def. Geovanny Mendoza (Siena), 7-6 (6), 6-2
6. Alex MacNeil (SJU) def. Matt Bellino (Siena), 6-2, 2-6, 10-6 (STB)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6
 
Game Scores
Singles: Saint Joseph's 63, Siena 55
Doubles: Saint Joseph's 17, Siena 15
Total: Saint Joseph's 80, Siena 70

Navy 5, Saint Joseph's 2

Doubles
1. Jack Dabek / Greg Durham (USNA) def. Eshan Kanetkar / Nathan Perrone (SJU), 6-0
2. Jake Fishkin / Romesh Kahatapitiya (USNA) def. Nickolas Frisk / Johnnie Massart (SJU), 6-4
3. Francesco Mowrey / Sam Sauter (SJU) def. Andres Ballesteros / Matthew Lee (USNA), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1. Durham (USNA) def. Perrone (SJU), 6-3, 6-4
2. Fishkin (USNA) def. Frisk (SJU), 6-1, 6-1
3. Mowrey (SJU) def. Dabek (USNA), 2-6, 6-2, 10-6 (STB)
4. Kahatapitiya (USNA) def. Kanetkar (SJU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Lee (USNA) def. Massart (SJU), 7-5, 6-3
6. Luis Janko (SJU) def. Ballesteros (USNA), 2-6, 7-6 (4), 11-9 (STB)
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 5, 6
 
Game Scores
Singles: Navy 69, Saint Joseph's 41
Doubles: Navy 16, Saint Joseph's 10
Total: Navy 85, Saint Joseph's 51