MERION STATION, Pa.—The late rounds of the main draws at this weekend's Saint Joseph's Invitational have started to take shape after a full day of competition at the SJU Tennis Complex on Saturday at the Maguire Courts and Finnesey Courts. Villanova had a busy day in the four singles draws and went 11-8 overall on the day. The top Wildcats this weekend have been junior Alex Kim (Cary, N.C.) and sophomore Ryan Nguyen (Oakton, Va.) who have each advanced to semifinal matches in the Flight 4 singles draw. They will resume competition at 9 a.m. Sunday.
 
Villanova accounted for five of the eight spots in the third round of the Flight 4 draw and saw some of its most competitive matches of the fall season to date occur in that bracket. Kim and Nguyen each began the day by defeating opponents from Mary Washington in the second round before taking on their own teammates in third round matches. Kim won in straight sets against classmate Will Gatti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) while Nguyen outlasted fellow sophomore Noah Winton (Columbia, Mo.) in a three-set thriller. Among other results from Saturday was freshman Trey Fourticq (Los Angeles, Calif.) reaching the semifinal round of the Flight 2 singles draw.
 
Saturday morning competition began with second round singles matches and both Gatti and Kim posted exciting victories. Gatti advanced past Alex MacNeil from the host Hawks with a 6-1, 2-6, 10-5 decision and Kim held off Cole Tecce from Mary Washington for a close 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory. Kim won the matchup with Gatti in the third round in a 6-4, 6-3 decision.
 
Lower down in the Flight 4 bracket Nguyen opened the day with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Artis Hart from Mary Washington and Winton defeated Djordje Janackovic (Drexel) in a tiebreaker to post a 6-3, 1-6, 10-5 win. It came as no surprise that Nguyen and Winton, two of the promising young players on the Wildcats roster, would battle to the last point in their third round match. Each of the first two sets resulted in a tiebreaker before Nguyen won a tiebreaking third set to close out a 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 10-5 result.
 
The semifinals of the Flight 4 draw get underway at 9 a.m. on Sunday with Kim facing Jeremy Learner of Lehigh and Nguyen taking on another Mountain Hawks opponent in Michael Bukhalo. The championship match is scheduled for Noon at the Maguire Courts.
 
Junior Daniel Cheng (Los Angeles, Calif.) had a first round bye in Flight 4 on Friday but began his weekend with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Andrew Cooper from Mary Washington in a second round match on Saturday morning. He fell to Learner in the third round in a 6-2, 6-4 decision. Senior Matthew Jones (Dallas, Texas) was a double winner on Saturday as he scored a pair of wins in the Flight 3 consolation draw. Jones defeated Rhajzon Rankins of Morgan State (8-6) and Juan Manuel Sanchez of Drexel (9-8 [1]) to reach the consolation final. His opponent for a 12 p.m. match on Sunday has yet to be determined.
 
Jones and sophomore Josh Robinson (Potomac, Md.) are still alive in the Flight 1 doubles main draw. They won a first round match on Friday before having a walkover in the second round Saturday. The pair will face Mikeal Carpenter and Rhajzon Rankins from Morgan State, the top overall doubles seed in this weekend's tournament, in a semifinal match on Sunday at the Maguire Courts. The match time has not yet been determined and will be played when a court becomes available.
 
Below are the complete Villanova results from Saturday's matches and the schedule of competition for the Wildcats on Sunday.

SAINT JOSEPH'S INVITATIONAL
SJU Tennis Complex
Merion Station, Pa.
September 25, 2021
 
SATURDAY RESULTS
 
Flight 1 Singles
Consolation
Josh Robinson (Villanova) defeated Moses Hutchison (Mary Washington) 8-3
Pablo Perez Ramos (Mary Washington) defeated Josh Robinson (Villanova) 8-4
 
Flight 2 Singles
Second Round
Trey Fourticq (Villanova) defeated Pierce Gilheany (Delaware) 4-6, 2-1, retired
 
Semifinal
Alan Jesudason (Drexel) defeated Trey Fourticq (Villanova) 6-3, 6-2
 
Consolation
Justin Suarez (Villanova) advanced over Sanil Jagtiani (Drexel) Walkover
 
Flight 3 Singles
Second Round
Xandy Hammitt (Drexel) defeated Eitan Khromchenko (Villanova) 4-6, 7-6 (6), 10-6
 
Consolation
Matthew Jones (Villanova) defeated Rhajzon Rankins (Morgan State) 8-6
Matthew Jones (Villanova) defeated Juan Manuel Sanchez (Drexel) 9-8 (1)
Gustav Wogen (Drexel) defeated Lukas Choi (Villanova) 8-2
 
Flight 4 Singles
Second Round
Daniel Cheng (Villanova) defeated Andrew Cooper (Mary Washington) 6-1, 6-3
Will Gatti (Villanova) defeated Alex MacNeil (Saint Joseph's) 6-1, 2-6, 10-5
Alex Kim (Villanova) defeated Cole Tecce (Mary Washington) 7-6 (3), 7-5
Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) defeated Artis Hart (Mary Washington) 6-2, 6-3
Noah Winton (Villanova) defeated Djordje Janackovic (Drexel) 6-3, 1-6, 10-5
Nick Spera (Mary Washington) advanced over Eitan Khromchenko (Villanova) Walkover
 
Third Round
Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) defeated Daniel Cheng (Villanova) 6-2, 6-4
Alex Kim (Villanova) defeated Will Gatti (Villanova) 6-4, 6-3
Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) defeated Noah Winton (Villanova) 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 10-5
 
Consolation
Ahmed Aboseada (Jefferson) advanced over Anthony Prokurat (Villanova) Walkover
Steven Nazaroff (Lehigh) defeated Noah Winton (Villanova) 8-4
 
Flight 1 Doubles
Second Round
Matthew Jones/Josh Robinson (Villanova) advanced over Nickolas Frisk/Alp Sentay (Saint Joseph's) Walkover
 
Consolation
Moses Hutchison/Andrew Watson (Mary Washington) defeated Alex Kim/Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) 6-3
 
Flight 2 Doubles
Consolation
Will Gatti/Collin Klumb (Villanova) advanced over Eshan Kanetkar/Alex MacNeil (Saint Joseph's) Walkover
Anthony Prokurat/Justin Suarez (Villanova) defeated Ryan Meyer/Cole Tecce (Mary Washington) 7-5
Juan Bejarano/Adrian Tudor (NJIT) defeated Lukas Choi/Noah Winton (Villanova) 6-4
Trey Fourticq/Eitan Khromchenko (Villanova) defeated Mario Antonio/Enrique Soto Ballester (Jefferson) 6-1
 
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
 
Flight 2 Singles
Consolation
Justin Suarez (Villanova) vs. Matvey Radionov (Drexel) 9:00 AM (Finnesey)
 
Flight 3 Singles
Consolation
Matthew Jones (Villanova) vs. either Gustav Wogen (Drexel) OR Enrique Soto Ballester (Jefferson) 12:00 PM (Maguire)
 
Flight 4 Singles
Semifinal
Alex Kim (Villanova) vs. Jeremy Learner (Lehigh) 9:00 AM (Maguire)
Ryan Nguyen (Villanova) vs. Michael Bukhalo (Lehigh) 9:00 AM (Maguire)
 
Flight 2 Doubles
Consolation
Will Gatti/Collin Klumb (Villanova) vs. Anthony Prokurat/Justin Suarez (Villanova) TBA (Maguire)
Trey Fourticq/Eitan Khromchenko (Villanova) vs. Juan Bejarano/Adrian Tudor (NJIT) TBA (Maguire)