Drexel Joins Top Three Seeds In CAA Men's Tennis Semifinals
Rob Washburn
Elon, N.C. (April 20, 2018) – Fifth-seeded Drexel advanced to the semifinals of the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship for the first time since 2013 after knocking off #4 James Madison, 4-2, on Friday at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on the campus of Elon University.
Joining the Dragons in the final four of the tournament after posting 4-0 quarterfinal victories on Friday were top-seeded William & Mary, #2 Elon and #3 UNCW.
Drexel (14-6), which set a new program record for wins, took an early lead by capturing the doubles point. The Dragons’ No. 2 tandem of Sanil Jagtiani and Balaji Lakshmanan topped JMU’s Alvaro Arce and Pierre Kohler, 6-2, but the Dukes responded with a 6-2 victory at No. 3 as Gonzalo Adis and Damon Roberts beat Xandy Hammitt and Hamza Laalej. The point was decided at No. 1 when Sinan Orhon and Bernard Tefel got past Theophile Lanthiez and Paul Mendoza, 6-3. JMU (16-7) regained momentum and took a 2-1 lead with convincing wins at the top two singles slots. Arce blanked Lakshmanan, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 and Mendoza defeated Laalej, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1. A 7-6, 6-3 triumph at No. 4 by Drexel’s Jagtiani over Roberts evened the contest, and the Dragons secured the match with a pair of three-set wins. Youssef Lahlou rallied past Adis, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 and Orhon closed things out with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win over Lanthiez at No. 3.
William & Mary (12-10) moved into the semifinals for the sixth straight year after a strong effort against #8 Delaware (16-8). In doubles, the Tribe’s No. 2 duo of Brenden Volk and Michael Chen rolled past Laurenz Lankes and Nathan Benyowitz, 6-1, and the No. 3 team of Christian Cargill and Louis Newman downed Curran Verma and Justice Jones, 6-4. W&M was dominant in singles as Finbar Talcott beat Blaise Casselbury, 6-2, 6-0 at No. 5, Cargill beat Dustin Britton, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 and Lars de Boer defeated Jones, 6-1, 6-1.
Elon (16-7) advanced to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season after getting past #7 Hofstra (10-9). The teams split the first two doubles matches with the Phoenix’s No. 3 team of Camilo Ponce and Kyle Frankel downing David Schrott and Nick Silvestri, 6-1, and the Pride’s No. 1 duo of Coco Haener and Niko Vulinovich beating Mario Paccini and Neal Port, 6-4. Elon was able to pull out the doubles point when Felipe Sarrasague and Taylor Foote edged Jan Leithner and Marcus Smith, 7-5, at No. 2 slot. The Phoenix picked up three straight-set victories in singles as Felipe Osses-Konig was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Silvestri at No. 6, Sarrasague cruised over Smith, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 1 and Jacob Bicknell defeated Santiago Haas, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 5.
Defending champion UNCW (17-4) reached the semifinals for the 11
th year in a row after eliminating #6 Charleston (7-12). In doubles, the Seahawks No. 3 team of Agustin Savarino and Michael Copeland eased past Ryan Kahn and Youssef Dabbabi, 6-1, but the Cougars’ No. 2 tandem of Easton Thomas and Ksawery Pociej edged Andres Torres and Michael Morphy, 7-5. The doubles point was decided by a tiebreaker on the No. 1 court when UNCW’s Raphael Calzi and Ignasi de Rueda outlasted Juan Estevarena and Benedikt Henning, 7-6 (7-3). The Seahawks carried that momentum into singles where Morphy blanked Thomas, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6, Copeland beat Pociej, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 and de Rueda ended the match with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Kahn at No. 3.
In Saturday’s semifinals at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, #1 William & Mary faces #5 Drexel, while #2 Elon takes on #3 UNCW. Both matches get underway at 10 a.m.
2018 CAA MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP – Quarterfinals
Jimmy Powell Tennis Center – Elon, N.C.
#1 William & Mary 4, #8 Delaware 0
Singles
#1 Christian Cargill (W&M) d. Dustin Britton (Delaware), 6-0, 6-2
#2 Alec Miller (W&M) vs. Colin Wong (Delaware) DNF – 6-4, 0-1
#3 Louis Newman (W&M) vs. Curran Verma (Delaware) DNF – 7-6, 0-0
#4 Lars de Boer (W&M) d. Justice Jones (Delaware), 6-1, 6-1
#5 Finbar Talcott (W&M) d. Blaise Casselbury (Delaware), 6-2, 6-0
#6 Sebastian Quiros (W&M) vs. Guilherme Valdolerios (Delaware) DNF – 6-1, 4-3
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4*
Doubles
#1 Miller/Tristan Bautil (W&M) vs. Casselbury/Wong (Delaware) – DNF, 5-3
#2 Brendan Volk/Michael Chen (W&M) d. Laurenz Lankes/Nathan Benyowitz (Delaware), 6-1
#3 Newman/Cargill (W&M) d. Verma/Jones (Delaware), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
#5 Drexel 4, #4 James Madison 2
Singles
#1 Paul Mendoza (JMU) d. Hamza Laalej (Drexel), 6-2, 6-3
#2 Alvaro Arce (JMU) d. Balaji Lakshmanan (Drexel), 6-0, 6-0
#3 Sinan Orhon (Drexel) d. Theophile Lanthiez (JMU), 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
#4 Sanil Jagtiani (Drexel) d. Damon Roberts (JMU), 7-6, 6-3
#5 Bernard Tefel (Drexel) vs. Pierre Kohler (JMU) DNF – 7-6, 6-6
#6 Youssef Lahlou (Drexel) d. Gonzalo Adis (JMU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 4, 6, 3*
Doubles
#1 Orhon/Tefel (Drexel) d. Lanthiez/Mendoza (JMU), 6-3
#2 Jagtiani/Lakshmanan (Drexel) d. Arce/Kohler (JMU), 6-2
#3 Adis/Roberts (JMU) d. Xandy Hammitt/Laalej (Drexel), 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
#2 Elon 4, #7 Hofstra 0
Singles
#1 Felipe Sarrasague (Elon) d. Marcus Smith (Hofstra), 6-0, 6-2
#2 Mario Paccini (Elon) vs. Niko Vulinovich (Hofstra) DNF - 6-1, 3-6, 1-0
#3 Kyle Frankel (Elon) vs. Coco Haener (Hofstra) DNF – 3-6, 6-2, 0-1
#4 Camilo Ponce (Elon) vs. Jan Leithner (Hofstra) DNF – 3-6, 3-2
#5 Jacob Bicknell (Elon) d. Santiago Haas (Hofstra), 6-0, 6-4
#6 Felipe Osses-Konig (Elon) d. Nick Silvestri (Hofstra), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 5*
Doubles
#1 Haener/Vulinovich (Hofstra)d. Paccini/Neal Port (Elon), 6-4
#2 Sarrasague/Taylor Foote (Elon) d. Leithner/Smith (Hofstra), 7-5
#3 Ponce/Frankel (Elon) d. David Schrott/Silvestri (Hofstra), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
#3 UNCW 4, #6 Charleston 0
Singles
#1 Andres Torres (UNCW) vs. Benedikt Henning (Charleston) DNF – 2-6, 2-3
#2 Agustin Savarino (UNCW) vs. Juan Estevarena (Charleston) DNF – 3-6, 3-0
#3 Ignasi de Rueda (UNCW) d. Ryan Khan (Charleston), 6-1, 6-2
#4 Michael Copeland (UNCW) d. Ksawery Pociej (Charleston), 6-2, 6-2
#5 Daniel Groom (UNCW) vs. Youssef Dabbabi (Charleston) DNF – 6-1, 4-6, 0-0
#6 Michael Morphy (UNCW) d. Easton Thomas (Charleston), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3*
Doubles
#1 Raphael Calzi/de Rueda (UNCW) d. Estevarena/Henning (Charleston), 7-6 (3)
#2 Thomas/Pociej (Charleston) d, Torres/Morphy (UNCW), 7-5
#3 Savarino/Copeland (UNCW) d. Khan/Dabbabi (Charleston), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*