STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan University of Steubenville men's tennis team continued their winning ways Tuesday afternoon with a victory over Bethany College at Belleview Park. Matt Alexander's tie-breaking singles win gave Franciscan the 5-4 lead and made it the fifth consecutive win for the Barons, who now improve to a 6-8 season and 5-5 within the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

In doubles, Andrew Straub and Nick Cundiff continued their personal four-match win streak in the number one match, beating Jason Straw and Levi Naylor 8-3. Matt Alexander and Clark Thompson lost to Jay Lyonett and Dustin Opalka 8-2. Adam Valienshout and Joey Alvarez played a tough match but pulled out a 9-8 (7-4) win over Ryan Rokisky and Evan Oslund to give Franciscan a 2-1 advantage.

In the singles, Opalka handled Straub 6-2, 6-1 in the number one match. Cundiff took Straw to the final set before dropping the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Brad Mathisen lost to Lyonett 6-0, 7-6 (9). Thompson beat Rokisky 6-0, 6-2; while Valienshout defeated Oslund 6-2, 6-1. In the number three match, Alexander took Naylor to a final set tiebreak, beating him 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and sealing a Franciscan victory.

Head coach Curtis Allen was very excited for his team:

“Matt [Alexander] breaking the tie was huge,” Allen said. “He really came through for us. Overall we played a really good match. We lost a couple good ones, but we were able to pull it out in the end which is what matters. Also, Clark and Adam really played well for us today. They pulled out big wins in their matches.”

The Barons will look to end the season on a high note, with their final match against Penn State Altoona on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. at Belleview Park.