MERION STATION, Pa. – Nathan Perrone set a new Saint Joseph's men's tennis program record with his 24th singles win of the season as the Hawks rolled past Coppin State, 6-1, at the SJU Tennis Complex on Monday afternoon.

Perrone passed the mark set by Jimmy Holland, who won 23 matches in the 2002-03 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (11-3) took the lead right out of the chute with wins in both contested doubles matches.  Justus Agbo and Alp Sentay won 6-1 in the second flight before Perrone and Nickolas Frisk finished things off with a 6-2 win in the first.

• That set the stage for Perrone to take a run at the single-season wins record, and he did it in style, winning at love in the top flight before being joined by his teammates on the court in celebration.

• Frisk won in straight sets in the second flight as well and Nassim Fenjiro won in the fourth to finish off the day for the Hawks.

HAWK TALK
"Today was a big deal for me," Perrone said.  "After having a great fall season winning two invitational tournaments and recording 11 singles wins, I knew that the record would be within my reach if I were to have a great dual match season.  I like to have a goal each time I'm out on the tennis court and this has been my biggest goal for months now. The former top player of the tennis program and current assistant coach Tim Stierle once told me that he wanted me to break this record and that he always thought it would be possible for me.  I'd really like to thank him for sticking this in my head and believing in me because it only made me want it more every match I got closer to 24.

"This is my first full season as a college tennis player, believe it or not.  I transferred to Saint Josephs for the spring 2019 season from community college and then the following year we only had the fall season before the pandemic cut the spring season short.  Last year, the fall was also canceled due to the pandemic and I was only able to play in the spring. This year I was finally able to play a fall and spring season back-to-back and here we are, 24 singles wins, a single-season record with multiple matches to go. I could not be more proud of myself for what I accomplished today.

"There was a time in my life when I never thought playing D-I college tennis was going to be possible.  That's why certain things like this mean so much to me.  I would really like to thank my head coach Marc Pibernat for always believing in me and pushing me every step of the way.  It has been a long road for us; without him none of this is possible.  I also want to thank every member of this team because they believe in me like no other and and make me strive to be a better tennis player and person every day.  Lastly I need to thank my girlfriend Alli, her family, and my parents because without them I'm not sure where my life would be.  I have a few more matches before my college career comes to an end and I'm going to give everything I have to finish.  I love being a Hawk and being a part of this university."

"What an unbelievable moment, not just for Nate, but for his teammates, the tennis program, the athletic department, the university and myself as his coach," head coach Marc Pibernat said.  "We are all extremely lucky to have him with us and it means everything to Nate what he has achieved today.  It was a reat team win again today and obviously the shoutout goes to Nate for everything that he has accomplished here on Hawk Hill.  There is still more to come; he is not done and we are not done!"

UP NEXT
Perrone will have his first chance to extend the mark on Wednesday when the Hawks host Villanova.

RESULTS

Saint Joseph's 6, Coppin State 1

Doubles
1. Nickolas Frisk / Nathan Perrone (SJU) def. Luka Markovic / Sergiu Medesan (CSU), 6-2
2. Justus Agbo / Alp Sentay (SJU) def. Vansh Kapoor / Dean Waterman (CSU), 6-1
3. Nassim Fenjiro / Alex MacNeil (SJU) won via walkover
Order of Finish: 2, 1

Singles
1. Perrone (SJU) def. Medesan (CSU), 6-0, 6-0
2. Frisk (SJU) def. Markovic (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
3. Kapoor (CSU) def. Jack Campbell (SJU), 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 (STB)
4. Fenjiro (SJU) def. Waterman (CSU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Eshan Kanetkar (SJU) won via walkover
6. MacNeil (SJU) won via walkover
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 4, 3

Game Scores:
Singles: Saint Joseph's 46, Coppin State 20
Doubles: Saint Joseph's 12, Coppin State 3
Total: Saint Joseph's 58, Coppin State 23