UNCW Captures CAA Men's Tennis Championship
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 21, 2013) – Top-seeded UNCW earned the 2013 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship following a 4-0 victory over #2 William & Mary 4-0 on Sunday at the Millie West Tennis Facility on the campus of William & Mary.
It was the third CAA title in the past five seasons for the Seahawks, who also captured the championship in 2009 and 2013. UNCW (18-4) earns the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship. William & Mary, which was playing in the CAA finals for the first time since 2010, dropped to 12-15.
The Seahawks got victories from their two nationally ranked doubles squads to grab a 1-0 advantage in the match. UNCW’s No. 1 duo of Kosta Blank and Chris Cooprider, ranked #28 nationally, beat Anton Andersson and Aaron Chaffee, 8-3, at No. 1 and the No. 2 team of Rafael Aita and Sam Williams, ranked #54, defeated Ben Guthrie and John Banks, 8-1.
UNCW closed out the match with three straight-set wins in singles. Cooprider gave the Seahawks a 2-0 advantage with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Will Juggins at No. 2. The next two matches finished just seconds apart as Blank got past Ben Hoogland, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 and Zach Hublitz downed Scott Huang, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 to give UNCW the victory.
2013 CAA MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP - Finals
Millie West Tennis Facility – Williamsburg, Va.
#1 UNCW 4, #2 William & Mary 0
Singles
#1 Rafael Aita (UNCW) vs. Aaron Chaffee (W&M) – DNF, 6-1, 4-3
#2 Chris Cooprider (UNCW) d. Will Juggins (W&M), 6-3, 6-1
#3 Sam Williams (UNCW) vs. Ben Guthrie (W&M) – DNF, 6-3, 4-3
#4 Kosta Blank (UNCW) d. Ben Hoogland (W&M), 6-3, 6-1
#5 Kaue Pereira (UNCW) vs. John Banks (W&M) – DNF, 3-6, 2-4
#6 Zach Hublitz (UNCW) d. Scott Huang (W&M), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6
Doubles
#1 Blank/Cooprider (UNCW) d. Anton Andersson/Chaffee (W&M), 8-3
#2 Aita/Williams (UNCW) d. Guthrie/Banks (W&M), 8-1
#3 Santtu Leskinen/Pereira (UNCW) vs. Hoogland/Juggins (W&M) – DNF, 5-3
Order of Finish: 1, 2