Saint Louis University men’s tennis launched their 2017 spring season in style, defeating Eastern Illinois 6-1 at the St. Clair Tennis Club in O’Fallon, Ill. Senior Paarth Dodhiawala, junior David Ferragut and sophomore Oscar Pachon won in singles and doubles to hand SLU the victory.

In singles, Ferragut defeated Freddie O’Brien by a score of 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, junior Charlie Parry defeated Grant Reiman by a score of 6-0, 6-2. Junior John Nogalski defeated Jared Woodson in a hard-fought match, by a score of 5-7, 6-1, 10-7. Meanwhile, in the fourth match, Pachon defeated Gage Kingsmith in three sets, with each of the three sets being very closely contested. The final score was 7-5, 6-7, 13-11. Meanwhile, Dodhiawala defeated Trent Reiman 6-2, 6-4. SLU’s only loss came at the hands of Eastern Illinois’ Marko Janjusic, who required a tiebreaker to defeat SLU freshman Justin Nogalski by a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

The doubles competition saw the Eastern Illinois players  Kingsmith and O’Brien defeat SLU’s Parry and John Nogalski, by a score of 6-4. However, SLU was able to respond with their other partnerships. Ferragut and Pachon defeated Trent and Grant Reiman 6-3, and Dodhiawala and Justin Nogalski defeated Woodson and Jacob Wendell by a score of 6-2.

The win brought SLU to a 2-0 record, including a win recorded from the fall. Next up for the Billikens will be a match against Quincy. Fortunately, SLU will have ample time to prepare for the matchup, which will take place on Friday, Feb. 3. Once again, that match will take place at the St. Clair Tennis Club, with the match time being set at noon. SLU will hope to continue their perfect start to the season against Quincy.