Men's Tennis Sweeps St. Francis (N.Y.) Friday to Open Spring Season

Friday, January 22

Drexel Armory

12 p.m.

Drexel University

St. Francis (N.Y.)

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Tennis Sweeps St. Francis (N.Y.) Friday to Open Spring Season

1/22/2016 3:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

PHILADELPHIA – Despite a looming snowstorm, Drexel Tennis swept its way to victory on Friday to begin the spring season at the Drexel Armory.

The Dragons' men came away with a 7-0 sweep of a shorthanded St. Francis (N.Y.) squad in the early afternoon.

Drexel started the day off by taking the doubles point, allowing the Terriers to win only one game along the way. Xabier Saavedra and Balaji Lakshmanan teamed up at No. 1 doubles for the 6-1 win, while Sinan Orhon and Kashyap Ashok earned the 6-0 sweep at No. 2. The Terriers only travelled with five players and took a default loss in the third spot.

In singles play, it was more of the same for the Dragons. The lone senior Saavedra cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Martin Bedecarratz. Andrew Sinai made his return to the lineup after battling a concussion in the fall and picked up his first win as a Dragon, 6-3, 6-0. At No. 3, the Buffalo transfer Lakshmanan took care of business, 6-2, 6-3. Orhon and Hamza Laalej shut out the Terriers the rest of the way. At No. 4, Orhon held Sacha Singh off the board for the 6-0, 6-0 victory. Laalej made his season debut after working through a knee injury to earn the 6-0, 6-0 sweep at No. 5 to end close out the match.

With the win, head coach Mehdi Rhazali (fourth season) tied Whitney Springstead (five seasons) for the third most career coaching wins in men's program history with 33.

The Dragons were scheduled to play in the Philly Six Invitational at Legacy Center on Saturday. However, due to the impending weather, the tournament has been postponed. No reschedule date has been decided as of yet. Instead, Drexel will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 31 when it hosts Morgan State at the Armory at 2 p.m.

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Men: Drexel 7, St. Francis (N.Y.) 0
Singles
Xabier Saavedra (DU) DEF Martin Bedecarratz (SFC), 6-2, 6-3
Andrew Sinai (DU) DEF Zura Tskhia (SFC), 6-3, 6-0
Balaji Lakshmanan (DU) DEF Milos Vukicevic (SFC), 6-2, 6-3
Sinan Orhon (DU) DEF Sacha Singh (SFC), 6-0, 6-0
Hamza Laalej (DU) DEF Michael Sparacino (SFC), 6-0, 6-0
Kashyap Ashok (DU) default

Doubles
Saavedra & Lakshmanan (DU) DEF Bedecarratzs & Tskhia (SFC), 6-1
Orhon & Ashok (DU) DEF Vukicevic & Sparacino (SFC), 6-0
Laalej & Sinai (DU) default