Baron Tennis Dominates in First Win

STEUBENVILLE – The Franciscan University of Steubenville men's tennis team nabbed its first win of the season in an impressive home performance, beating the Panthers of University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg by a final score of 7-2 Friday afternoon at Belleview Park.

Chris Cooper, Andrew Straub, and Matt Alexander all registered two wins for the Franciscan Barons, whose record improves to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

The Barons swept the doubles match in dominating fashion. In the number one matchup Straub and Nick Cundiff defeated Tomas Hric and Navid Pourarian 8-2. In the number two match Cooper and Alexander beat Derek Witten and Matt Huttenlock 8-3. In the final doubles match, Brad Mathisen and Clark Thomason finished the sweep with a winning score of 8-2 against James Bagey and Tom Bristol.

Cooper continued his dominating play on the singles side in the number one match against Hric, beating him 6-3, 6-1. Straub and Witten battled hard in the number two spot, with Straub eventually prevailing in a 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory. The Panthers' first victory did not come without a fight, as Pourarian beat Cundiff 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. Alexander won big again 6-0, 6-1 over Huttenlock. Bagley registered the second and final win for the Panthers, beating Mathisen 7-5, 6-6 (9-7). In the number six match Adam Valienshout gave Franciscan one final victory, beating Bristol 6-1, 6-2.

The Barons will look to keep momentum going as they hit the road to face Muskingum College on March 30 at 4 p.m.