ORLANDO, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's men's tennis team gutted out a 4-3 victory over Sacred Heart before falling to Southeastern, 4-1, on the second day of its Spring Break trip to the Sunshine State.
 
MATCH 1: Saint Joseph's 4, Sacred Heart 3
• Sacred Heart took the lead out of the chute with wins in all three doubles flights.
 
• Saint Joseph's responded once singles got underway, with Othman Bezzaz rolling to a 6-2, 6-0 win in the third flight before Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 supertiebreaker win in the fourth.
 
• Ernesto Ruy put the Hawks on the cusp of victory with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in the second flight, but the Pioneers earned wins in the first and fifth flights to draw level.
 
• In the sixth flight, Mark Rubin came away with the clinching point, as his 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 tiebreaker victory put the Hawks on top.
 
MATCH 2: Southeastern 4, Saint Joseph's 1
• Southeastern won the doubles point with victories in the second and third flights; Bezzaz and Ruy were level at 5-5 in the first when play was halted.
 
• Bezzaz claimed a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the third singles flight, but the Fire won the second, fifth, and sixth flights to take the overall match victory.

HAWK TALK
"In our first match, we battled a solid team today in extreme elements," head coach Jeff Puhan said.  "It was a huge team win today and Mark battled his nerves and was able to overcome it to pull out the clinching point.

"We then had a quick turnaround before our second match and I honestly wasn't sure what to expect out of the guys; I wanted to challenge them, and they responded with a great performance with high energy and fight.  I was proud of them tonight; I 've been pushing them and they responded.  We're getting better every day.  And what can I say about Othman; he's a machine!"
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks meet North Carolina A&T on Wednesday.
 
RESULTS
 
Saint Joseph's 4, Sacred Heart 3
 
Doubles
1. Lefteri Apostolou / Enrique Laennec-Baffrey (SHU) def. Othman Bezzaz / Ernesto Ruy (SJU), 6-3
2. Darius Eftekhar / Matyas Vencl (SHU) def. Justus Agbo / Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos (SJU), 6-3
3. Charlie Levinson / Antoine Hernandez (SHU) def. Jack Campbell / Mark Rubin (SJU), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
 
Singles
1. Apostolou (SHU) def. Agbo (SJU), 7-5, 6-4
2. Ruy (SJU) def. Vencl (SHU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Bezzaz (SJU) def. Hernandez (SHU), 6-2, 6-0
4. Papadopoulos (SJU) def. Laennec-Baffrey (SHU), 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 (STB)
5. Arya Alla (SHU) def. Campbell (SJU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Rubin (SJU) def. Eftekhar (SHU), 6-4, 5-7, 10-8 (STB)
Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 5, 6
 
Southeastern 4, Saint Joseph's 1
 
Doubles
1. Bezzaz / Ruy (SJU) vs. Diego Menendez / Bruno Pessoa (SEU), 5-5 (unfinished)
2. Alejandro Orihuela / Victor Pilla (SEU) def. Agbo / Papadopoulos (SJU), 6-0
3. Mark Griffin / Piero Fernandez (SEU) def. John Butler / Eli Gan-Dy (SJU), 6-3
 
Singles
1. Agbo (SJU) led Pessoa (SEU), 1-6, 7-5, 4-0 (unfinished)
2. Menendez (SEU) def. Ruy (SJU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Bezzaz (SJU) def. Pilla (SEU), 6-1, 6-1
4. Papadopoulos (SJU) led Orihuela (SEU), 6-2, 5-4 (unfinished)
5. Fernandez (SEU) def. Campbell (SJU), 6-0, 6-2
6. Griffin (SEU) def. Gan-Dy (SJU), 6-2, 1-6, 10-5 (STB)