PHILADELPHIA – Ernesto Ruy held on for a win in the second singles flight on Saturday night to lead the Saint Joseph's men's tennis team past Jefferson, 4-3, at the Legacy Indoor Tennis Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's took the early lead via the doubles point.  Justus Agbo and Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos won their second-flight match in resounding fashion before Ruy and Othman Bezzaz took the first to clinch the point.

• Bezzaz and Agbo then won their third- and first-flight singles matches, respectively, in short order to give the Hawks a commanding lead.  The Rams battled back, claiming victories in the final three flights to draw level.

• Ruy sealed the deal for the Hawks, earning a 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-6 supertiebreaker victory in the second flight to give SJU to overall win.

HAWK TALK
"We had great energy from the guys tonight," head coach Jeff Puhan said.  "Justus and Stergios dominated their doubles match.  I'm so proud of Ernesto, who found the energy with the match tied 3-3 to muscle out a win in the tiebreaker.  It's time to put in some work the next two weeks before Spring Break."

UP NEXT
The Hawks are idle until March 4, when they meet Stonehill at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.

RESULTS

Saint Joseph's 4, Jefferson 3

Doubles
1. Othman Bezzaz / Ernesto Ruy (SJU) def. Hannibal Borg / Enrique Soto Ballester (JEFF), 6-3
2. Justus Agbo / Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos (SJU) def. Mario Antonio / Johary Rabetrano (JEFF), 6-1
3. Antonio Mateos Melenchon / Jules Thibault (JEFF) def. Jack Campbell / Mark Rubin (SJU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. Agbo (SJU) def. Borg (JEFF), 6-4, 6-4
2. Ruy (SJU) def. Thibault (JEFF), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 10-6 (STB)
3. Bezzaz (SJU) def. Soto Ballester (JEFF), 6-2, 6-0
4. Antonio (JEFF) def. Papadopoulos (SJU), 6-0, 7-5
5. Mateos Melenchon (JEFF) def. Campbell (SJU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Rabetrano (JEFF) def. Eli Gan-Dy (SJU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5, 6, 4, 2