Red Flash Tennis Teams Victorious in Season Openers at Juniata

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Saint Francis men’s and women’s tennis team’s began the 2008-09 campaign in winning fashion. Both teams came out victorious over the Juniata Eagles on Sunday afternoon at the Raffensperger Tennis Courts in Huntingdon, Pa.
    The Red Flash men’s team earned a 7-0 win over the Eagles, and the women’s team came away with a 4-3 victory.
     On the men’s half, No. 1singles player, Andrei Sandu (Windsor, Ontario / Kennedy Collegiate) conquered Juniata’s Jonathan Skoner in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. The Red Flash’s No. 2 singles player, Steve Kowalski (Toms River, N.J. / Toms River) defeated Jarrad Silver with a score of 7-6, 7-5, 7-5.
    In men’s doubles action, No. 1 doubles players, Steve Kowalski (Toms River, N.J. / Toms River) and Jeffery Seevers (Clear Lake, Texas / Clear Lake) topped Jarrad Silver and Arnab Chakrabarti with a 8-3 decision. At No. 2 doubles, Sandu and Nathaniel Fleming (Gas City, Ind. / Mississinewa) defeated Aaron Rhodes and Jonathan Skoner with a score of 8-5. Finally, at No. 3 doubles, David Kirby (New Germany, Pa. / Forest Hills) and Steven Child (Lancaster, Pa. / Lancaster County Day) won with a score of 9-7 over Ross Imbrie and Vincent Xie.
    In singles, Jordan Kowalski (Toms River, N.J. / Toms River) defeated No. 3 Ryan Navarro with a score of 6-3, 6-1. In the No. 4 spot, Nathaniel Fleming beat Arnab Chakrabarti in two sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
    On the other side, the Red Flash women took a team victory with a score of 4-3. In the No. 1 singles spot, Abigail Ball (Ebensburg, Pa. / Central Cambria) swept the win over Amanda Fontana in two sets with a 6-4, 6-4 score. No. 2 freshman Stephanie Rivera (El Paso, Texas / America’s High School) defeated Katie Healy by 6-2, 6-3.
    The No. 3 and No. 4 singles spots for Saint Francis were not as triumphant, though. No. 4 Ashley Zalewski (Vandergrift, Pa. / Kiski Area) took a loss to Caroline Weisser in two sets with a score of 7-5, 6-2. Devynn Sarver (Mt. Clemens, Mich. / Fraser), Saint Francis’ No. 3 singles player, took a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Maggie Wolenter.
    No. 5 Juliana Gustafson (Keyser, W.V. / Keyser) and No. 6 Brianna Mapes (Somerset, Pa. / Shanksville) both won in three sets over the Eagles. Gustafson played Lauren Perow and won with a score of 7-5, 7-6, (7-5), and Mapes played Sarah Lieberman and also came out on top with a score of 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.
    In doubles for the women’s team, Stephanie Rivera and Devynn Sarver lost to Amanda Fontana and Katie Healy with a score of 9-7 in No. 1 doubles. Finally, No. 2 doubles partners, Abigail Ball and Ashley Zalewski, swept the Eagle’s Maggie Wolenter and Caroline Weisser for the win with a score of 8-3.