Oct. 23, 2009

NORFOLK, Va. - Four Saint Joseph's men's tennis players are taking part in the 2009 ITA Regional Tournament at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. The sophomore doubles pairing of Peter Cognetti and Jeff Kessler won its first two matches on Thursday, reaching the round of 16.

The pair took down Kevon Charles and Eric Ward from Morgan State in the first round, 8-4, early Thursday afternoon. Later on, they defeated the ninth-seeded duo of John Collins and Ian Mansfield from the University of Maryland.

In other doubles action, seniors Matt Prusack and Michael Stauble fell in the opening round to Guanhau Chen and Taylor Cohen of Penn State, 8-4.

Kessler and Stauble advanced to the second round of the 128-player singles draw on Thursday as well. Kessler defeated Morgan State's Mauricio Ortiz, 6-4, 6-2, while Stauble took down Shane Yap of UMBC, 6-2, 6-4.

Cognetti fell in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, to Mikey Clarke of Georgetown, and Prusack lost to Anderson Walls from the U.S. Naval Academy, 6-2, 7-5.

Play continues throughout the weekend.

Saint Joseph's Results

Singles

First Round
Mikey Clarke (Georgetown) def. Peter Cognetti (Saint Joseph's), 7-5, 6-2
Jeff Kessler (SJU) def. Mauricio Ortiz (Morgan State), 6-4, 6-2
Anderson Walls (Navy) def. Matt Prusack (SJU), 6-2, 7-5
Michael Stauble (SJU) def. Shane Yap (UMBC), 6-2, 6-4

Doubles

First Round
Cognetti/Kessler (SJU) def. Kevon Charles/Eric Ward (MSU), 8-4
Guanhau Chen/Taylor Cohen (Penn State) def. Prusack/Stauble (SJU), 8-4

Second Round
Cognetti/Kessler def. #9 John Collins/Ian Mansfield (Maryland), 8-5