Eastern’s men’s tennis team ended its four-match losing streak Sunday after defeating St. Joseph’s College (Indiana), improving to a 2-8 record.

The losing streak was the second of the team’s season, after they went 0-4 in their first four matches before winning against St. Francis in their fifth match to get their first victory.

Before the win Sunday, Eastern played Friday in Carbondale against Southern Illinois University, losing 6-1.

The lone point for Eastern came from freshman Marko Stefan Janjusic, who improved his singles’ record for the season to 5-5, after the win Friday and his win Sunday. Janjusic has played well this spring in the No. 5 spot in the team’s singles lineup, and he now has the best singles record on Eastern’s roster.

“(Marko) played a really complete match from start to finish,” coach Samuel Kercheval said.

Eastern came close to getting another point in the match.

Freshman Gage Kingsmith lost to his opponent Michal Kianicka in straight sets: 6-4, 6-3. Despite the loss, it was the closest any other Eastern player came to winning their singles match.

Kercheval said SIU, now 7-1 on the season, was really aggressive with how they played, but he said Eastern handled it for the most part. In a couple spots, he said, a break of serve was the difference.

Eastern nearly swept St. Joseph’s College Sunday winning 6-1; the only lost point came from Kingsmith who lost 7-6, 6-4.

“Gage has been playing well and embracing the tough matches and finding ways to compete,” Kercheval said.

Freshman Ferdinand Ammer got his first win of the season after winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

Against St. Joseph’s, Kercheval said his team emphasized getting off to a strong start and focusing on playing the ball, not the opponent.

“We wanted to come out and control what we can control which was ourselves,” Kercheval said.

He said his team did that for the most part, and the win took care of itself. While Eastern got its second win of the season, St. Joseph’s is still looking for its first win, holding an 0-4 record.

Eastern will start practicing this week with a big challenge ahead: three games in two days.

On Friday, Eastern will travel to Madison, Wis. to take on the University of Wisconsin. Then Saturday, Eastern will be in Chicago for a doubleheader to face the University of Detroit Mercy and Chicago State.

“Next week is a huge test for us and our mental fortitude,” Kercheval said. “We have been improving each week and will continue to work as we have.”

Dillan Schorfheide can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]