Monmouth And Hofstra Earn 4-2 Victories In First Round Of CAA Men's Tennis Championship
Rob Washburn
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL TOURNAMENT BRACKET
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 27, 2023) – Seventh-seeded Monmouth and #9 Hofstra recorded victories in the first round of the 2023 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Thursday at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts on the campus of William & Mary.
Hofstra earned its first win at the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship since 2008 and became the first #9 seed to reach the quarterfinals since 2011 by defeating #8 Charleston, 4-2. In a clash of conference newcomers, Monmouth captured a tightly contested 4-2 match over #10 Hampton.
Hofstra (7-11) got off to a fast start by earning the doubles point with a pair of convincing wins. The Pride’s top team of Jonathan Mahrt Guyou and Ostap Kovalenko defeated Robby Krick and Matia Bernardi, 6-2, and Hofstra’s No. 3 duo of Josh Reynolds and Kaita Odani followed moments later with a 6-2 triumph over Matias Gaedechens and Zac Larke.
The Pride pushed its advantage to 3-0 in singles as Bo Cautaerts topped Larke, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 and Reynolds battled past Krick, 7-6 (5), 6-3 at No. 3. However, Charleston (10-11) fought back with Johnny Wang rallying for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Vincent Turina at No. 5 and Gaedechens besting Hidecki Matsuoka, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6. Hofstra clinched the match at No. 4 when Matthew Garcia got a late break and edged Noah Borges, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Monmouth (17-6) grabbed the early advantage by taking the doubles point. The Hawks’ No. 2 tandem of Victor Castro and Gabe Busato downed Ange-Kevin Koua and Jeremiah Williams, 6-4, and MU’s No. 1 duo of Niels Van Noord and Dmitry Bezborodov topped Erden Er and Daniel Flynn, 6-3.
Monmouth extended its lead as Christof Zeiler beat Jeremiah Williams at No. 6. Hampton (9-9) got on the board when Er defeated Van Noord, 7-6 (5), 6-0 at No. 1. The teams traded victories in the next two matches as the Hawks got a 6-2, 6-3 win by Bezborodov over Donte Armbrister at No. 2 and the Pirates answered with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph by Koua over Alexander Zuckerman at No. 4. The contest was decided in a second-set tiebreaker at No. 3 when Monmouth’s Castro got past Flynn, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
With inclement weather expected on Friday, quarterfinal matches have been moved to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on the William & Mary campus. Action starts at 9 a.m. as top-seeded UNCW faces Hofstra, followed by #4 Drexel against #5 North Carolina A&T at Noon. Second-seeded William & Mary takes on Monmouth at 3 p.m., and #3 Elon meets #6 Delaware at 6 p.m. to cap the day’s action.
#9 Hofstra 4, #8 Charleston 2
Singles
#1 Ostap Kovalenko (HU) vs. Matia Bernardi (CofC) – DNF, 7-6 (6), 2-6
#2 Bo Cautaerts (HU) d. Zac Larke (CofC), 6-2, 6-2
#3 Josh Reynolds (HU) d. Robby Krick (CofC), 7-6 (5), 6-3
#4 Matthew Garcia (HU) d. Noah Borges (CofC), 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
#5 Johnny Wang (CofC) d. Vincent Turina (HU), 1-6, 6-4, 6-0
#6 Matias Gaedechens (CofC) d. Hidecki Matsuoka (HU), 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 6, 4*
Doubles
#1 Jonathan Mahrt Guyou/Kovalenko (HU) d. Krick/Bernardi (CofC), 6-2
#2 Cautaerts/Garcia (HU) vs. Wang/Brolin Dorsey (CofC), – DNF, 4-5
#3 Reynolds/Kaita Odani (HU) d. Gaedechens/Larke (CofC), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
#7 Monmouth 4, #10 Hampton 2
Singles
#1 Erden Er (HU) d. Niels Van Noord (MU), 7-6 (5), 6-0
#2 Dmitry Bezborodov (MU) d. Donte Armbrister (HU), 6-2, 6-3
#3 Victor Castro (MU) d. Daniel Flynn (HU), 7-5, 7-6 (4)
#4 Ange-Kevin Koua (HU) d. Alex Zuckerman (MU), 7-5, 6-3
#5 Gabe Busato (MU) vs. Emiliano Jorquera (HU) – DNF, 4-6, 7-6 (3)
#6 Christof Zeiler (MU) d. Jeremiah Williams (HU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2, 4, 3*
Doubles
#1 Van Noord/Bezborodov (MU) d. Er/Flynn (HU), 6-3
#2 Castro/Busato (MU) d. Koua/Williams (HU), 6-4
#3 Lucca Silva/Diego Laporta (MU) vs. Armbrister/Jorquera (HU) – DNF, 5-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1*