MASON, Ohio – Luis Miguel Flores and Drew Feder won singles matches, but Temple emerged with a 4-2 victory over Saint Louis in an Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Tennis Championship first-round match Thursday at Lindner Family Tennis Center.
The Billikens, seeded 11th, finished the season 6-13. Temple (7-11), the No. 6 seed, advanced to play No. 3 Charlotte in Friday's quarterfinals.
Kristian Marquart and Sam Rundle defeated Joe Flanagan and Nishaad Balachandran 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, and the Owls went on top 1-0 when Hernan Vasconez and Hicham Belkssir got past Flores and Patrick Kella 8-5 at No. 1.
Temple made it 2-0 with Santiago Canete's 6-4, 6-4 win over Flanagan at No. 3 singles, but Flores and Feder pulled the Billikens even. Flores disposed of Belkssir 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5, while Feder was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Rundle at No. 6.
The Owls regained the lead on Marquart's 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Kella at No. 2. They clinched the match when Nicolas Paulus turned back Yehia El Sallaly 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 4.
In unfinished contests, Bobby Kidera and Vasconez were tied at one set apiece (Kidera 7-5, Vasconez 6-4) at No. 1 singles, while Kidera and Feder held a 6-5 edge over Canete and Paulus at No. 3 doubles.
