MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team notched a big win over Lafayette on Saturday, topping the Leopards by a 6-1 score at the SJU Tennis Complex.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Hawks grabbed the early lead with a doubles sweep.  Othman Bezzaz and Ernesto Ruy claimed a 6-2 win in the first while Justus Agbo and Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos won by the same score in the second.  Eli Gan-Dy and Mark Rubin polished off the sweep with a 7-5 win in the third.

• Lafayette drew level with a win in the top singles flight, but it was all Hawks from there.  Ruy put SJU back on top with a 6-0, 6-3 win in the second before Papadopoulos took a 6-2, 6-1 result in the fourth to put the Hawks on the brink of victory.

• Bezzaz sealed the deal with a 6-1, 6-1 win in the third flight; Jack Campbell then won 6-4, 6-1 in the fifth before Rubin won 8-7 (2) in a pro set in the sixth flight to finish the day.

HAWK TALK
"We got off to a fast start in doubles today," head coach Jeff Puhan said.  "Stergios got his first doubles win, Jack moved to 3-1 on the season, and we had some solid performances, highlighted by a huge comeback by Mark to win in a tiebreaker.  He gets the game ball today.  We get ready now to battle Penn tomorrow."

UP NEXT
The Hawks head to Penn for a match on Sunday afternoon.

RESULTS

Saint Joseph's 6, Lafayette 1

Doubles
1. Othman Bezzaz / Ernesto Ruy (SJU) def. Arman Ganchi / William Woolley (LAF), 6-2
2. Justus Agbo / Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos (SJU) def. Jake Magnusson / Nick McKenzie (LAF), 6-2
3. Eli Gan-Dy / Mark Rubin (SJU) def. Sam Gelber / Derrin Lerner (LAF), 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. Ganchi (LAF) def. Agbo (SJU), 6-3, 6-2
2. Ruy (SJU) def. McKenzie (LAF), 6-0, 6-3
3. Bezzaz (SJU) def. Magnusson (LAF), 6-1, 6-1
4. Papadopoulos (SJU) def. Woolley (LAF), 6-2, 6-1
5. Jack Campbell (SJU) def. Lerner (LAF), 6-4, 6-1
6. Rubin (SJU) def. Gelber (LAF), 8-7 (2)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6