After two losses that ended an early-season winning streak, the Bison men’s tennis team regained momentum by defeating the Saint Joseph’s Hawks 5-2 to boost their season record to 5-5.

The teams squared off in Williamsport last Saturday in what was anticipated to be one of the season’s most competitive matches. The Hawks arrived with an impressive record of 4-1 and well-prepared to rematch after falling to the Bison 4-2 last February.

In doubles, the Bison claimed two victories with Marwan Abaza ’21 and Ryan Jurist ’22 teaming up for a 6-4 win in the number two doubles while Chunyu Chen ’23 and Guillermo Torres ’23 took the third spot going 6-3. The Hawks claimed the top slot in one of their two wins of the day, taking down a team of Cooper Bradshaw ’22 and Michael Owen ’23.

Abaza earned his 10th singles win competing in the top spot, responding with two 6-2 wins after losing the first set to ultimately secure the win. Jurist took the number four singles in a similar fashion with a comeback win going 3-6, 6-1, and 6-3. Torres and Sam Yildirimlar ’21 tallied two additional singles wins for the Orange and Blue competing in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.

The Bison face UC Irvine next as they begin their spring break tour in California before they host again on March 29.

“We have a long season and many more matches to go,” said Bradshaw. “It certainly feels great to win against a strong team like St Joes and we are carrying the momentum of that win into our spring break trip in California.”