ORLANDO, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team saw its season come to a close on Friday as the ninth-seeded Hawks fell to top-seeded VCU, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship at the USTA National Campus.

VCU took the early lead with wins in the second and third doubles flights.  The Rams then secured passage to the semifinals with wins in all three singles matches to be played to completion.

"I am very proud of the guys and the way they fought in every match against a very strong team," assistant coach Marc Pibernat said.  "Hats off to VCU for having such a good season and getting ranked 37th in the nation, and to their coach, Anthony, who is doing a very good job with his team.

A special mention to Luis Janko and Francesco Mowrey, who played their last matches for the Hawks, and they both gave everything they had when they stepped on the court.

To finish, I want to recognize the unbelievable season that Nathan Perrone had playing at number-one singles for us.  He is one of a kind, and we are extremely lucky to have such a student-athlete competing for us on Hawk Hill.  Next year, we will be back stronger!  Go Hawks!"

"A loss to the strongest team in our conference ends our season on a high note," head coach Ian Crookenden said.  "Losing to the best leaves no room for doubt or self-recrimination.  Saint Joseph's was extremely well-represented on the tennis courts by this year's squad.  I congratulate Coach Pibernat and all squad members on a job well done."

RESULTS

#1 VCU 4, #9 Saint Joseph's 0

Doubles
1. David Cierny / Lleyton Cronje (VCU) led Eshan Kanetkar / Nathan Perrone (SJU), 5-3
2. Inigo Torre Martin / Rayane Stable (VCU) def. Nickolas Frisk / Francesco Mowrey (SJU), 6-1
3. Charles Bertimon / Quentin Coulaud (VCU) def. Alex MacNeill / Johnnie Massart (SJU), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2

Singles
1. Bertimon (VCU) led Perrone (SJU), 6-4, 1-3
2. Torre Martin (VCU) led Frisk (SJU), 6-0, 3-5
3. Stable (VCU) def. Kanetkar (SJU), 6-3, 6-0
4. Coulaud (VCU) def. Mowrey (SJU), 6-1, 6-1
5. Timo Zgraggen (VCU) led Massart (SJU), 6-3, 5-0
6. Cierny (VCU) def. Luis Janko (SJU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4

Game Scores
Singles: VCU 63, Saint Joseph's 22
Doubles: VCU 17, Saint Joseph's 5
Total: VCU 80, Saint Joseph's 27