BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Franciscan Barons prevailed in a very tight match with the Geneva College men's tennis team on Monday night, 5-4, with several matches finishing in tiebreakers.  Franciscan improved to 2-1, 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, while Geneva dropped to 2-3 overall, 2-3 in the PAC.

All three doubles matches went to tiebreakers, the first time that has happened since the men's program started five years ago.  Junior Josiah Shaver (Norwich, N.Y./Norwich) and freshman Jadon Hooke (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) prevailed in their tiebreaker in #3 doubles 7-5, winning the match 8-7.  In #1 doubles, seniors Nate Heidengren (Aliquippa, Pa./Beaver County Christian) and Drake Greenstein (Austin, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) lost their tiebreaker 7-4, while graduate student Alex Greissinger (Erie, Pa./Northwest PA Collegiate Academy) and sophomore Jacques Guillembet (Ft. Myers, Fla./South Ft. Myers) also lost in #2 doubles in a tiebreaker, 7-4.  To make matters even more difficult, it started raining in the middle of the #1 doubles tiebreaker, and the match had to be moved to Brady's Run Indoor facility to complete the match.

Guillembet was the first Golden Tornado to finish his singles match, winning easily in #3 singles by a score of 6-1, 6-2.  Heidengren also prevailed in a tight match in #1 singles, winning 6-4, 7-6(5).  Greenstein lost in a tight match in #2 singles 5-7, 4-6, evening the match at 3-3.  Unfortunately, Hooke lost his match in #6 singles 1-6, 3-6, and Greissinger lost his match in #4 singles in a tiebreaker 7-6(5), 0-6, 3-10, for the clinching match.  Shaver closed out the final match of the night in #5 singles with a victory 6-3, 7-6(4).

"This was one of the best matches I've seen in a long time," said Head Coach Mandee Craft.  "All three doubles going to tiebreaker is very rare, and then the singles matches were all battles too.  Having to move indoors stretched it out too, so we weren't off the courts until 11:00 p.m.  It's a hard one to lose, but both teams fought so well."

Geneva is back in action on Friday when the Golden Tornadoes host Westminster on Friday at 6:00 p.m.  Geneva defeated Westminster earlier this year 5-4, so this match will not count in the conference standings.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).