CAA Tennis Championship Preview
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (April 19, 2016) – The 2016 CAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held April 21-24 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center on the campus of Elon University in Elon, N.C. and the Burlington Tennis Center in Burlington, N.C. The event is open to the public and there is no admission charge.
Nine women’s and eight men’s teams will compete for conference titles and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The women’s championship opens with a first-round match on Thursday, April 21. Quarterfinal action for both the men and women starts at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 22, followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the two championship matches on Sunday, April 24.
William & Mary (15-6), which is ranked #37 nationally by the ITA, is the tournament’s top seed in the women’s draw. The Tribe has captured 23 of the past 31 CAA championships, including last year when they defeated College of Charleston, 4-0. W&M is led by senior Elizaveta Nemchinov, who is 18-8 overall and ranked #108 nationally in singles, and junior Marie Faure, who has a 14-6 mark in singles. Nemchinov and Faure are also ranked #77 nationally in doubles.
Elon (13-9) earned the #2 seed for the championship and enters the event on an eight-match winning streak. The Phoenix feature a pair of sophomores at the top of their singles lineup with Olivia Lucas compiling an 11-9 record and Erica Braschi posting a 15-4 record.
James Madison (16-6) received the #3 seed after going 5-1 against CAA opponents this season. The Dukes are paced by junior Timea Guibe, who has an 18-12 record in singles, and junior Rachel Nelson, who has picked up 14 singles victories.
College of Charleston (15-11), which has reached the finals in the past two CAA Tournaments, is the #4 seed this year. Topping the lineup for the Cougars is junior Liza Fieldsend, who is 14-9 at No. 1 singles, and senior Katherine Schofield, who has 13 singles wins.
UNCW (9-8), which is led by sophomore Madara Straume, will be the #5 seed in the women’s championship. Sixth-seeded Towson (13-8) features sophomore Nicole Shakhnazarova at the top of its lineup. Junior Honami Yazawa is the top performer for 7
th-seeded Drexel (13-6). Eighth-seeded Hofstra (13-6) will count on senior Sarah Bowen at #1 singles, while ninth-seeded Delaware (8-9) has sophomore Amanda Studnicki at the #1 singles slot.
On the men’s side, UNCW, which is ranked 67
th nationally by the ITA, is the top seed on the men’s side for the fourth year in a row. The Seahawks (10-8) have won four of the last seven CAA championships, but were knocked off in the semifinals a year ago. Seniors Santtu Leskinen and Christiaan Van der Burgh have combined for 18 singles wins at the top of the lineup.
College of Charleston (16-6), which has reached the finals of the CAA Tournament for the past two years, received the #2 seed. Sophomore Juan Estevarena has a sparkling 16-5 record at No. 1 singles and has combined with Rodrigo Encinas for a 15-5 mark at the top doubles spot. CofC has won seven of its last eight matches.
Third-seeded Elon (16-5) comes into the tournament having won nine of its last 10 matches. The Phoenix feature a pair of talented freshmen in Felipe Sarrasague, who is 14-5 in singles, and Mario Paccini, who has a 12-8 singles mark.
Defending champion William & Mary (14-8) is the #4 seed in this year’s tournament after capturing its first CAA title since 2005 as the #3 seed a year ago. The Tribe’s top singles player is sophomore Christian Cargill while junior Addison Appleby is in the #2 slot.
Fifth-seeded Drexel (13-7), which set a program record for victories this season, has senior Xabier Saavedra atop its singles lineup. Hofstra (11-6) earned the #6 seed and has gotten an excellent rookie campaign from freshman Marcus Smith (12-8). Seventh-seeded James Madison (9-11) will look to junior Sebastian Salinas (16-10) to provide leadership from the #1 singles spot. Delaware (3-13), which is the #8 seed, has a veteran presence at the top of its lineup in senior Mike Furr.
For more information on the CAA Tennis Championship, visit our official championship pages under the championships tab at
CAASports.com. Fans can join the social media conversation by using the official CAA Championships hashtag, #CAAChamps, on both Instagram and Twitter.
2016 CAA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 21-24 – Jimmy Powell Tennis Center/Burlington Tennis Center
Elon University – Elon, N.C.
Thursday, April 21 – First Round (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center – Elon University)
10 a.m. – Women - #8 Hofstra vs. #9 Delaware
Friday, April 22 – Quarterfinals (Men at Burlington Tennis Center/Women at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center)
9 a.m. – Women - #1 William & Mary vs. Hofstra/Delaware winner
Women - #4 College of Charleston vs. #5 UNCW
9 a.m. – Men - #1 UNCW vs. #8 Delaware
Men - #4 William & Mary vs. #5 Drexel
1 p.m. – Women - #2 Elon vs. #7 Drexel
Women - #3 James Madison vs. #6 Towson
1 p.m. – Men - #2 College of Charleston vs. #7 James Madison
Men - #3 Elon vs. #6 Hofstra
Saturday, April 23 – Semifinals (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center – Elon University)
10 a.m. – Men – UNCW/Delaware winner vs. W&M/Drexel winner
Men – CofC/JMU winner vs. Elon/Hofstra winner
2 p.m. – Women – W&M/Hofstra-Delaware winner vs. CofC/UNCW winner
Women – Elon/Drexel winner vs. JMU/Towson winner
Sunday, April 24 – Championships (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center – Elon University)
10 a.m. – Men’s Championship
2 p.m. – Women’s Championship