STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - Franciscan men's tennis opened up its fall 2015 season with an 8-1 loss to Baldwin Wallace University on the Barons' home court.

"I thought for the first match, they performed well," assistant coach Scott Greve said. "There's obviously a lot of aspects of our game right now that we need to work on and improve on but overall I thought it was a good first match. Baldwin Wallace is just a phenomenal program. Year in and year out, they're at the top of a very competitive conference and for these guys to come out and play strong against them is good."

Doubles play proved to be tough for the Barons as there were three new sets of partners on the courts together for the first time. No. 1 and no. 2 doubles each lost by scores of 8-1.

"Doubles is all chemistry," Greve said. "When you have a new partner, it takes some growth together. You have to learn each other's games and they're definitely doing that. You can see that in their progression."

However, sophomores Joseph Quiza and Connor Jooste seemed to gel together right from the start at no. 3 doubles. The two played the closest doubles match and one of the most competitive matches overall, eventually losing in a tiebreak 8-7(6).

"I was just ecstatic with the way that Joe Quiza and Connor played," Greve said. "They came together very quickly and played a great match. We definitely had opportunities in that match to close it out that we didn't capitalize on, but there was great chemistry there."

Senior and reigning AMCC Player of the Year Zachary Quiza played in the toughest singles match on the night. Quiza had a strong start and took the first set rather easily but faltered in the second set, forcing a 10-point tiebreaker third set. The senior also trailed early in the tiebreaker but, with the support from his teammates in the end, pulled out the only win for the Barons.

"That was a huge match," Greve said. "That really goes to show Zack's heart and just how competitive and great his game is. That player is one of the tops in a very tough conference and that is just a huge, huge win for Zack Quiza."

This Baldwin Wallace match also saw the return of senior David Freytag after a year away from the program. Freytag lost in his first match, 6-0, 6-3 at no. 4 singles, but the team is excited to have him back on the court.

"David is our captain, he's our leader," Greve said. "Just having him as the leader of this team really pulls things together and having him back on court is just great. We really missed him last year and it's evident that having him back for fall and spring is going to be great for Baron tennis."

The Barons will travel with the Lady Barons team for their next match at Grove City College on September 22.