PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph’s men’s tennis team shut out Coppin State, 7-0, at Legacy Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday night.  The win is the first with the Hawks for new head coach Jeff Puhan.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph’s (1-0) got off to a flying start with a sweep of the three doubles flights.  Othman Bezzaz and Ernesto Ruy took a 6-3 win in the first flight before Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos and Mark Rubin earned a 6-4 win in the third.  Justus Agbo and John Butler polished off the sweep with a 7-6 (10) win in the second flight.

• It was another clean sweep for the Hawks on the singles side.  Ruy rolled to a 6-1, 6-4 win in the first flight while Bezzaz won at love in the second.  Agbo was a 6-3, 6-2 winner in the third flight, Papadopoulos rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the fourth,Jack Campbell secured a 6-2, 7-5 triumph in the fifth, and Eli Gan-Dy finished things off with a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the sixth.

HAWK TALK
“Today was a total team win; all eight guys contributed to the sweep,” Puhan said.  “It was exciting for me to get my first win as a collegiate coach, and also for Stergios to pick up his first collegiate win.  Now, we get back to work and prepare for Navy next weekend.”

UP NEXT
The Hawks visit Navy on February 3.

RESULTS

Saint Joseph’s 7, Coppin State 0

Doubles
1. Othman Bezzaz / Ernesto Ruy (Saint Joseph’s) def. Harsh Kheterpal / Vansh Kapoor (Coppin State), 6-3
2. Justus Agbo / John Butler (SJU) def. Liam Murtaugh / Rick Neike (CSU), 7-6 (10)
3. Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos / Mark Rubin (SJU) def. Ulugbek Abdurakhmonov / Kwaku Agyeman (CSU), 6-4

Singles
1. Ruy (SJU) def. Kapoor (CSU), 6-1, 6-4
2. Bezzaz (SJU) def. Neike (CSU), 6-0, 6-0
3. Agbo (SJU) def. Kheterpal (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Papadopoulos (SJU) def. Murtaugh (CSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Jack Campbell (SJU) def. Abdurakhmonov (CSU), 6-2, 7-5
6. Eli Gan-Dy (SJU) def. Agyeman (CSU), 6-2, 6-3