By John Gallagher

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Franciscan men's tennis team downed Delaware Valley University 9-0 in the day's first match to improve to 2-1 on the Barons' annual spring break trip.

Sophomore Jake Haffner and freshman Stephen Bolster faltered only briefly in an 8-1 victory over No. 3 doubles opposition. The duo controlled the net, redirecting pace up the line in order to neutralize opponent's groundstrokes.

At the No. 1 spot, senior John Gallagher and freshman Aiden Howard quickly posted an 8-0 win, behind Howard's consistent first serves and Gallagher's service returns. The pair only faced a single break point en route to the win.

Team captain Jarek Sulak paired with freshman Joseph Suess at No. 2 doubles, where they lost only four points before wrapping up the match 8-0 in their favor. A consistent serve-and-volley approach gave them the win, together with an efficient net performance, and well-placed serves.

Sporting an abbreviated lineup after jumping out to an early 3-0 doubles start, the Barons quickly went to work at singles.

Sulak turned in a winning performance at the no. 1 singles spot, not dropping a game in his perfect 6-0, 6-0 win on court one. He consistently found corners on penetrative groundstrokes, and broke serve for the win.

At the No. 4 singles spot, Suess turned in his second-straight singles win of the week. After a 6-0 first set went his way, things tightened in the second. Suess found some trouble adjusting to the second set but stayed loose, keeping rallies to his opponent's backhand side, and angling net shots off the court, for his 6-3 second set victory.

Freshman Luke Conrad lost only a single game during his 6-0, 6-1 win, and was never broken during the match. At the same time, Howard put a 6-1, 6-0 win in the books, turning in solid serves and confident forehands.

After senior Connor Jooste put his No. 2 singles opponent away 6-1, 6-0, freshman Christian Cappello avenged a loss earlier in the week, posting a 6-1, 6-1 victory on the find court. He outlasted his opponent's consistent groundstrokes at the No. 6 singles spot, and regularly visited the net, to finish points on his own terms.

Post-competition, ardent aeronautical maven Stephen Bolster said, "A lot of great matches out there today."

The Barons will take on Belhaven University on the back end of the Wednesday doubleheader, a 7:30 p.m. match at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.