CORAOPOLIS, Pa. - On Friday, the Franciscan men's tennis team registered what head coach Scott Greve called "a big win for our program", defeating Otterbein University 6-3, for the first time in program history.

At 3:45 p.m. after team introductions, doubles took the court. No. 2 doubles pair sophomore RJ Watson and junior Connor Jooste found themselves locked in a close matchup with their Otterbein counterparts. After trading games to 6-6, Watson's serve was broken, and the Barons gave up a close pro set, 8-6.

On court one, junior No. 1 duo Jarek Sulak and John Gallagher played perhaps their best doubles on the year. Behind baseline dominance from Sulak and Gallagher's net game, they lost only a single game before putting their opponents away 8-1.

Senior David Freytag and freshman Jack Galla proved simply too much to handle at No. 3 doubles. The Barons finished points at the net and closed the match when it mattered, giving Franciscan the decisive 2-1 lead before singles play.

After the break, team captain Freytag found himself down big in his No. 3 singles match. After losing the first set 6-1 and going down to a 4-3 deficit in the second set, Freytag rallied to take the second set 7-5. Though his opponent took a 2-0 lead in the third, Freytag again outplayed him down the stretch, leaning into his strokes and pushing the ball deep when it mattered most. With the support of the spectators, he won a thriller of a match, 6-4 in the third set.

Watson found he was able to shake off any residual inconsistency during his own match. The sophomore was broken only once, en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles. His series of unreturnable serves down the stretch kept the momentum firmly swung in his direction.

Gallagher couldn't find an answer for his opponent's aggressive service tactics at No. 2 singles, but soon to take the court after him was Jooste, who reversed the team's fortunes with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in his No. 5 singles matchup. Jooste's consistency powered him through his own service games, and as the last match on the court, the team helped him through the finish.

With parents watching, Sulak had something to play for at No. 1 singles. Despite his opponent's consistent strokes, Sulak dug deep, angling his forehands off the court and finishing points at the net on his own service games. He overcame a 5-4 deficit to take the first set, before putting his opponent away in the second, 6-2.

A tough 6-1, 4-6, 10-7 loss in a third set tiebreak by Galla rounded out the match on the day for the Barons, in a performance Greve called encouraging as conference play approaches.

The Barons next take on conference opponent Mt. Aloysius College on Saturday at noon.