Box Score ALLEGHENY, Pa. - All three doubles teams had strong showings as the Franciscan men's tennis team lost 9-0 to Allegheny College.
"We lost 9-0 but our doubles players played really well," head coach Jeremy Ellis said. "All three of them played well. Our first match outside made things a little different but it was still all around a good doubles match. It gave us pretty good confidence going into our tournament this weekend."
The doubles lineup returned to normal after sophomore John Gallagher missed the last match. Reunited with his partner, fellow sophomore Jarek Sulak, the two had a hard fought No. 1 doubles match, losing 8-4 and snapping a seven-match winning streak for the sophomores. Just a few minutes later, freshman Richard Watson and sophomore Connor Jooste dropped their No. 3 doubles match 8-5.
Seniors David Freytag and Zachary Quiza played the toughest doubles match on court No. 2. Freytag and Quiza found themselves down 7-4, one point away from losing the match before fighting off several set points to eventually bring the match to an 8-6 final.
"They had a good run at it," Ellis said. "They were down seven set points in that match and brought it close. They were down 7-4, 40-love and were able to turn it around and bring it to 8-6."
In singles play, Gallagher had the strongest match for the Barons despite missing the Saturday's match. After losing the first set of his No. 3 singles match 6-2, the sophomore battled hard in the second set but eventually lost 6-4.
"Having John back was nice," Ellis said. "He played really well, played a good second set. He came back and played well. Overall, I was pleased with the way he played, getting him ready for this weekend."
However, the closest match between the Barons and the Gators won't be one found on the score sheet. Freshman Joseph Sebastian played an eight game pro set for an exhibition match and won by a score of 9-8. The freshman found himself down 6-1 to his opponent before roaring back to win the match.
"It was just neat seeing the freshman on the team playing really well, coming back and winning it," Ellis said.
The next match for the Barons comes this weekend in the AMCC tournament where Franciscan comes in as the No. 1 seed with a target on its back, seeking a fourth-straight conference championship. After taking on the Gators, Ellis feels that his team is prepared for the challenge ahead.
"It was just a good match all around before [the] conference [tournament]," Ellis said.
Franciscan will take on fourth-seeded Pitt.-Greensburg in the AMCC semifinals at the Westwood Racquet Club in Erie, Pennsylvania, hosted by Pitt.-Bradford. First serve is at 3:30 p.m.
