SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's tennis team started the 2016 season on Saturday with an impressive 9-0 shutout of Crossroads League rival, the University of Saint Francis (Ind.).

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 9, Saint Francis 0

LOCATION: Western HS

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 1-0 (1-0 CL), Saint Francis 0-4 (0-3 CL)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Spring Arbor got things started with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Nick Romano and Vincent McShane came away with an 8-4 win over one of the top doubles teams in the conference while Jacob Byrd and Jonah Engle cruised 8-2.
• Josh Scott and Alex Reinbold completed the doubles sweep for the Cougars with a hard-fought 8-5 win at No. 3.
• In singles competition, SAU picked up four straight-set wins while Romano and Engle held on to win in three. Both won the opening set, but dropped the second before edging out their opponents in a 10-point tiebreaker.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH TERRY DARLING

• "I really liked the level of our effort today. We made some first-match mistakes which is to be expected. A couple of our players were competing in their first college match and it is not always a smooth adjustment going from high school competition to this next level but they stood up under the pressure."
• "I was also really pleased with the play of our No. 1 doubles team, who beat a very good team from Saint Francis. Nick Romano also beat a two-time All-Conference player, Nathan Barger, at No. 1 singles."

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will travel to Bethel College (1-2, 0-2 CL) on Tuesday, Sept. 6. The match is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start.

THE RESULTS

Singles

1. Nick Romano (SAU) def. Nathan Barger (USF) 6-2, 6-7, 10-8
2. Alex Reinbold (SAU) def. Austin Overlander (USF) 6-3, 6-1
3. Vincent McShane (SAU) def. Jay Stanchin (USF) 6-4, 6-2
4. Jonah Engle (SAU) def. Alex Stavretis (USF) 7-5, 3-6, 10-2
5. Jacob Byrd (SAU) def. Daniel Harrold (USF) 6-0, 6-1
6. Sam Head (SAU) def. Tyler Chrislieb (USF) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles

1. Romano / McShane (SAU) def. Barger / Stanchin (USF) 8-4
2. Byrd / Engle (SAU) def. Overlander / Harrold (USF) 8-2
3. Reinbold / Josh Scott (SAU) def. Stavretis / Chrislieb (USF) 8-5

Men's Tennis Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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