ORLANDO, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team had ts run at the Atlantic 10 Championship come to an end on Thursday as the ninth-seeded Hawks fell to the top-seeded and 38th-ranked defending champion VCU, 4-0, at the USTA National Campus.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• VCU won the doubles point with wins in the second and third flights.  Inigo Diaz and Alejandro Vedri were locked in a tight battle at 5-4 in their first-flight contest when play was stopped.

• The Rams finished off the match with wins in the second, fourth, and fifth singles flights.  Diaz was on the verge of scoring for the Hawks in the third flight, taking his first set 6-2 before getting to 5-5 in the second before the match was clinched.

HAWK TALK
"Today's match against VCU wraps up our season," head coach Marc Pibernat said.  "Congratulations to VCU for the win; it is always an honor to compete against such a good team and coach like Anthony. 

"The guys left it all on the court at this A-10 Championship.  I am very proud of how we finished the season given the fact that we had some ups and downs that created some doubts, but that was all left behind with the team's performance at the Championship.  Yet another year that we finish strong and with a positive record overall, so I'm very happy with that especially given that fact that we had an almost completely new team from the last year's.

"I want to say the biggest thank you to my mentor this past six years on Hawk Hill, Coach Ian Crookenden, who taught me everything I know about college coaching.  I wish him nothing but the best for his retirement and I am so fortunate that I was able to work alongside such a legend.  Thank you Coach!

"And lastly, a massive thank you to all the players but especially our seniors.  Alejandro, our captain Nassim, and Oscar, it was a pleasure being your coach and thank you for what you brought to the program.  Go Hawks!!"

RESULTS

#1 VCU 4, Saint Joseph's 0

Doubles
1. Charles Bertimon / Maxence Bertimon (VCU) led Inigo Diaz / Alejandro Vedri (SJU), 5-4
2. Matisse Bobichon / Rayane Stable (VCU) def. John Butler / Oscar Serra (SJU), 6-3
3. Joaquim de Almeida / Romain Gales (VCU) def. Justus Agbo / Nassim Fenjiro (SJU), 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2

Singles
1. Bobichon (VCU) led Vedri (SJU), 6-4, 5-3
2. Stable (VCU) def. Agbo (SJU), 6-0, 6-3
3. Diaz (SJU) led M. Bertimon (VCU), 6-2, 5-5
4. Gales (VCU) def. Fenjiro (SJU), 6-2, 6-1
5. Almeida (VCU) def. Serra (SJU), 7-6 (5), 6-0
6. Etienne Marty (VCU) led Eli Gan-Dy (SJU), 6-2, 5-1
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5

Game Scores
Singles: VCU 66, Saint Joseph's 33
Doubles: VCU 17, Saint Joseph's 7
Total: VCU 83, Saint Joseph's 40