ORLANDO, Fla. - The ninth-seeded Saint Joseph's Hawks overcame a two-point deficit to defeat No. 8 Duquesne in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship Thursday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

In doubles play, Duquesne struck first with a pair of wins on court one and court three. The duo of Jin Dassanayake and Kaipo Marshall earned a 6-3 victory against Johnnie Massart and Alex MacNeil, before Alejando Rodriguez-Vidal and Tamirlan Teberikov clinched the opening point, 6-1 against Nathan Perrone and Eshan Kanetkar.

The Dukes extended their lead with a court three victory from Marshall, 6-4, 6-3. Saint Joseph's would take back to back victories on the top two courts in straight sets to even the match at 2-2. At No. 1 singles, Perrone defeated Alex Mascioli 6-4, 6-2, followed by Nickolas Frisk with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

The next court to finish was No. 6, where SJU's Luis Janko took the first set in a tiebreaker, and the second set, 7-5 to give the Hawks a 3-2 match lead.

The Dukes weren't done however, as Dassanayake came back to win in three sets on court four, again knotting the team score. 

Saint Joseph's Johnnie Massart dropped his first set, 2-6, but then rallied in the second with a 7-6(1) win in the tiebreak. The third and final set with Teberikov also went to a tiebreak, with Massart clinching the individual and team victory.

With the win, the Hawks move on the quarterfinals and will face top-seeded VCU on Friday at 9:00 am.

MATCH #1 - #9 SAINT JOSEPH’S def. #8 DUQUESNE, 4-3
SINGLES
1. Nathan Perrone (SJU) def. Alex Mascioli (DUQ) 6-4, 6-2
2. Nickolas Frisk (SJU) def. Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal (DUQ) 7-5, 6-3
3. Kaipo Marshall (DUQ) def. Eshan Kanetkar (SJU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Jin Dassanayake (DUQ) def. Francesco Mowrey (SJU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
5. Johnnie Massart (SJU) def. Tamirlan Teberikov (DUQ) 2-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(1)
6. Luis Janko (SJU) def. Bode Vance (DUQ) 7-6(4), 7-5
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 6, 4, 5

DOUBLES
1. Alejando Rodriguez-Vidal/Tamirlan Teberikov (DUQ) def. Nathan Perrone/Eshan Kanetkar (SJU) 6-1
2.Nickolas Frisk/Francesco Mowrey (SJU) vs. Alex Mascioli/Joey Matthews (DUQ) 5-2, DNF
3. Jin Dassanayake/Kaipo Marshall (DUQ) def. Johnnie Massart/Alex MacNeil (SJU) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3