PRINCETON, N.J. – Othman Bezzaz and Ernesto Ruy made Saint Joseph's men's tennis program history on Sunday, reaching the semifinals of the ITA Northeast Regional Championships at Princeton University.
 
The pair fended off Penn's Luka Butera and Justin Chung in a tiebreaker to reach the quarterfinals; in that round, Bezzaz and Ruy went the distance again before topping 15th-seeded Jordan Chang and Andrew Kotzen of Columbia in another tiebreaker.
 
The previous high water mark for the Hawks was in 2021, when Nickolas Frisk and Alp Sentay reached the Round of 16.
 
Ruy competed in the Round of 16 in the singles draw as well, falling to Sachin Palta of Columbia.
 
Bezzaz and Ruy are scheduled to take to the court for the semifinals on Monday morning when they face Shaurya Bharadwaj and Vojtech Vales of Penn.  The winner will advance to Tuesday's final.
 
SAINT JOSEPH'S RESULTS
 
Doubles Main Draw Round of 16
Othman Bezzaz / Ernesto Ruy (SJU) def. Luka Butera / Justin Chung (Penn), 8-7 (5)
 
Doubles Main Draw Quarterfinals
Bezzaz / Ruy (SJU) def. [15] Jordan Chang / Andrew Kotzen (Columbia), 8-7 (2)
 
Singles Main Draw Round of 16
[7] Sachin Palta (Columbia) def. Ruy (SJU), 6-2, 6-3