Campbell, Drexel And Charleston Win First-Round Matches At CAA Men's Tennis Championship
Rob Washburn
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 18, 2024) – Campbell, Drexel and Charleston recorded first-round victories in the 2024 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Thursday at the Mackesy Tennis Center on the campus of William & Mary.
#8 Charleston 4, #9 North Carolina A&T 2
Senior Zac Larke battled past Lucas Coupu-Moison, 7-6 (3), 6-4 at No. 2 singles to send 8
th-seeeded Charleston (12-10) into the quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory over 9
th-seeded North Carolina A&T (15-5).
Charleston took an early 1-0 lead following a competitive doubles point. A&T’s No. 2 duo of Said Akbarov and Ian Pedersen rolled past Matias Gaedechens and JD Rojas, 6-1, but the Cougars pulled even as their No. 3 tandem of Zac Larke and Brolin Dorsey held off a rally from Mathieu Dussaubat and Kaua Santos for a 6-4 win. The point was decided at No. 1, as Charleston’s Mattia Bernardi and Eddie Vo got a break at 5-all and then served out a 7-5 triumph over Esteban Lopez and Coupu-Moison.
The Cougars pushed their advantage to 3-0 as Vo topped Pedersen, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4 singles and Rojas defeated Dussaubat, 7-5, 6-0 at No. 6. The Aggies fought back as Akbarov beat Gaedechens, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 and Lopez posted a 6-3, 6-4 win over Bernardi at No. 1. With A&T leading its match at the No. 5 slot, Larke was able close out the match by breaking Coupu-Moison and earning the deciding point.
#7 Drexel 4, #10 Hofstra 0
Alan Jesudason and Egor Kirakosov pulled out three-set wins to give 7
th-seeded Drexel (13-8) a hard-fought 4-0 victory over 10
th-seeded Hofstra (7-11).
The Dragons claimed the doubles point with a pair of convincing wins. Drexel’s No. 1 team of Jesudason and Alex De Sousa topped Hideki Matsuoka and Vincent Turina, 6-1, and the No. 3 tandem of Pierre Humayou and Hussein El Tawil beat Joshua Reynolds and Maxim Michaels, 6-1.
In singles, De Sousa defeated Matthew Garcia, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 3 to make it 2-0. Drexel closed out the match when Jesudason battled past Ostap Kovalenko, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 1 and Kirakosov rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Kaita Odani at No. 5.
#6 Campbell 4, #11 Hampton 0
Tomas Balazi recorded victories in singles and doubles to help push 6
th-seeded Campbell past 11
th-seeded Hampton, 4-0, in the Camels’ inaugural CAA Tournament appearance.
The Camels took the doubles point to earn a 1-0 advantage. Campbell’s No. 2 team of Damien Nezar and Tomas Balazi downed Shine Tokas and Benjamin Mwanza, 6-1, but Hampton responded with a win at No. 3 as Daniel Flynn and Aryan Arora topped Pol Otin and Matias Lofink, 6-2. Campbell clinched the point as the No. 1 duo of Benjamin Maes and Lukas Steffen defeated Emiliano Jorquera and Donte Armbrister, 6-2.
Campbell closed out the match with three straight set victories in singles. The Camels’ Luke Tollenaar beat Mwanza, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6 and Pol Otin followed with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Arora at No. 5. Balazi clinched the contest by beating Tokas, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4.
The CAA Men’s Tennis Championship continues on Friday with four quarterfinal matches. Top-seeded UNCW meets #8 Charleston at 9 a.m., followed by #4 Monmouth against #5 William & Mary at Noon. At 3 p.m., #2 Delaware faces #7 Drexel and #3 Elon takes on #6 Campbell at 6 p.m.
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www.caasports.com/mtennis for live results, recaps and highlights.
2024 CAA MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round – April 18, 2024
Mackesy Tennis Center – Williamsburg, Va.
#8 Charleston 4, #9 North Carolina A&T 2
Singles
#1 Esteban Lopez (A&T) d. Mattia Bernardi (CofC), 6-3, 6-4
#2 Zac Larke (CofC) d. Lucas Coupu-Moison (A&T), 7-6 (3), 6-4
#3 Said Akbarov (A&T) d. Matias Gaedechens (CofC), 6-2, 6-1
#4 Eddie Vo (CofC) d. Ian Pedersen (A&T), 6-1, 6-2
#5 Jordy Larke (CofC) vs. Kaua Santos (A&T) – DNF, 4-6, 6-0, 4-5
#6 JD Rojas (CofC) d. Mathieu Dussaubat (A&T), 7-5, 6-0
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 3, 1, 2*
Doubles
#1 Bernardi/Vo (CofC) d. Lopez/Coupu-Molson (A&T), 7-5
#2 Akbarov/Pedersen (A&T) d. Gaedechens/Rojas (CofC), 6-1
#3 Z. Larke/Brolin Dorsey (CofC) d. Dussaubat/Santos (A&T), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
#7 Drexel 4, #10 Hofstra 0
Singles
#1 Alan Jesudason (DU) d. Ostap Kovalenko (HU), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
#2 Hussein El Tawil (DU) vs. Joshua Reynolds (HU) – DNF, 3-6, 6-1, 4-2
#3 Alex De Sousa (DU) d. Matthew Garcia (HU), 7-5, 6-2
#4 Alessio Azalini (DU) vs. Hideki Matsuoka (HU) – DNF, 6-3, 0-6, 2-3
#5 Egor Kirakosov (DU) d. Kaita Odani (HU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
#6 Josue Guzman (DU) vs. Maxim Michaels (HU) – DNF, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 0-0
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 1*
Doubles
#1 Jesudason/De Sousa (DU) d. Matsuoka/Vincent Turina (HU), 6-1
#2 Guzman/Kirakosov (DU) vs. Kovalenko/Jonathan Mahrt Guyou (HU) – DNF, 1-5
#3 Pierre Humayou/El Tawil (DU) d. Reynolds/Michaels (HU), 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
#6 Campbell, #11 Hampton
Singles
#1 Damien Nezar (CU) vs. Emiliano Jorquera (HU)
#2 Benjamin Maes (CU) vs. Daniel Flynn (HU)
#3 Lukas Steffen (CU) vs. Donte Armbrister (HU)
#4 Tomas Balazi (CU) vs. Shine Tokas (HU), 6-2, 6-4
#5 Pol Otin (CU) d. Aryan Arora (HU), 6-2, 6-4
#6 Luke Tollenaar (CU) d. Benjamin Mwanza (HU), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4*
Doubles
#1 Maes/Steffen (CU) d. Jorquera/Armbrister (HU), 6-2
#2 Nezar/Balazi (CU) d. Tokas/Mwanza (HU), 6-1
#3 Flynn/Arora (HU) d. Matias Lofink/Otin (CU), 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*