Monmouth Posts Historic Win To Join UNCW, Drexel and Elon In Men's Tennis Semifinals
Rob Washburn
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 28, 2023) – Monmouth became the first #7 seed to advance to the semifinals of the 2023 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship, upsetting #2 William & Mary, 4-0, on Friday at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on the campus of William & Mary.
Joining the Hawks in Saturday’s semifinals are top-seeded UNCW, which beat #9 Hofstra, 4-0, #3 Elon, which defeated #6 Delaware, 4-1, and #4 Drexel, which downed #5 North Carolina A&T, 4-0.
Due to inclement weather on Friday, all matches were moved indoors and singles were played first per conference championship policy.
Monmouth (18-6), competing in the CAA Championship for the first time, used an impressive performance throughout Its lineup to earn the historic victory over William & Mary (9-11). The Hawks got started with a 6-1, 6-3 win by Victor Castro over Sean Joseph at No. 3, and Niels Van Noord added a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over George Davis at No. 1. The Hawks pushed their lead to 3-0 after Christof Zeiler defeated Daniel Pellerito, 7-5, 6-2 at No. 6. The match ended in dramatic fashion on Court 4. Monmouth’s Alexander Zuckerman took the first set from Andres Silva, 6-3, and was leading 5-2 in the second before Silva won four straight games to go up 6-5. However, Zuckerman held serve to force a tiebreaker and then won it 7-4 to end the match.
UNCW (15-7) advanced to the semifinals for the 15
th consecutive year with its over Hofstra (7-12). The Seahawks got started with a pair of wins from the bottom of their lineup. At No. 6, UNCW’s Alex de Gabriele topped Hidecki Matsuoka, 6-2, 6-4 and teammate Trey Mallory followed by beating Vincent Turina, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. The Seahawks extended their lead as Harold Huens bested Bo Cautaerts, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2, before Reece Falck closed it out with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Ostap Kovalenko at No. 1.
Drexel (10-10) reached the semifinals for the first time since 2018 after getting past #5 North Carolina A&T (16-3). The Dragons swept the three matches at the bottom of the lineup in straight sets. Drexel’s Matvey Radionov downed Alex Martinez, 7-5, 6-2 at No. 4, Hugo Brungs defeated Ian Pedersen, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5, and Juan Manuel Sanchez held off Mathieu Dussaubat, 6-2, 7-5 at No. 6. The match was decided on the No. 1 court when the Dragons’ Alan Jesudason edged Esteban Lopez, 7-6 (2), 7-5.
Elon (14-8) moved into the semifinals for the eighth consecutive year following a hard-fought battle with Delaware (16-9). The Phoenix sprinted out to a quick 2-0 advantage as Daniel Martin downed James Wilkinson, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 1 and Oskar Antinheimo topped Udayan Bhakar, 6-2, 6-2. Delaware got on the board at No. 6 as Daniel Krulig was a 6-2, 7-6 (3) winner over Ben Zipay. A 7-6 (5), 6-1, victory by Elon’s Nick Condos over Alexandre Gluck at No. 4 made it 3-1. The Phoenix clinched the match at No. 2 when Nicholas Campbell rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win against Luis Molina.
Saturday’s semifinal matches will move back outdoors to the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts. UNCW faces Drexel at Noon, followed by Monmouth against Elon at 3 p.m.
#1 UNCW 4, #9 Hofstra 0
Singles
#1 Reece Falck (UNCW) d. Ostap Kovalenko (HU), 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
#2 Harold Huens (UNCW) d. Bo Cautaerts (HU), 6-3. 6-1
#3 Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) vs. Josh Reynolds (HU) – DNF, 6-3, 5-5
#4 Davide Innocenti (UNCW) vs. Matthew Garcia (HU) – DNF, 6-2, 6-7 (7)
#5 Trey Mallory (UNCW) d. Vincent Turina (HU), 6-4, 6-2
#6 Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) d. Hidecki Matsuoka (HU), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2, 1*
#4 Drexel 4, #5 North Carolina A&T 0
Singles
#1 Alan Jesudason (DU) d. Esteban Lopez (NC A&T), 7-6 (2), 7-5
#2 Daniel Dudockin (DU) vs. Eder Blanco (NC A&T) – DNF, 6-2, 4-6, 1-2
#3 Alex De Sousa (DU) vs. Vasil Ivanov (NC A&T) – DNF, 6-0, 4-6, 5-4
#4 Matvey Radionov (DU) d. Alex Martinez (NC A&T), 7-5, 6-2
#5 Hugo Brungs (DU) d. Ian Pedersen (NC A&T), 6-4, 6-4
#6 Juan Manuel Sanchez (DU) d. Mathieu Dussaubat (NC A&T), 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 6, 1*
#7 Monmouth 4, #2 William & Mary 0
Singles
#1 Niels Van Noord (MU) d, George Davis (W&M), 6-2, 6-4
#2 Dmitry Bezborodov (MU) vs. Joseph Brailovsky (W&M) – DNF, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 0-0
#3 Victor Castro (MU) d. Sean Joseph (W&M), 6-1, 6-3
#4 Alex Zuckerman (MU) d. Andres Silva (W&M), 6-3, 7-6 (4)
#5 Gabe Busato (MU) vs. Bill Duo (W&M) – DNF, 6-1, 3-6, 3-2
#6 Christof Zeiler (MU) d. Daniel Pellerito (W&M), 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 6, 4*
#3 Elon 4, #6 Delaware 1
Singles
#1 Daniel Martin (EU) d. James Wilkinson (UD), 6-2, 6-4
#2 Nicholas Campbell (EU) d. Luis Molina (UD), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
#3 Veljko Krstic (EU) vs. Willy Wibmer (UD) – DNF, 4-6, 6-4, 5-4
#4 Nick Condos (EU) d. Alex Gluck (UD), 7-6 (5), 6-1
#5 Oskar Antinheimo (EU) d. Udayan Bhakar (UD), 6-2, 6-2
#6 Daniel Krulig (UD) d. Ben Zipay (EU), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 6, 4, 2*