UNCW, Delaware, Elon And W&M Prevail In Exciting CAA Men's Tennis Quarterfinals

UNCW, Delaware, Elon And W&M Prevail In Exciting CAA Men's Tennis Quarterfinals

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Rob Washburn

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 19, 2024) – Top-seeded UNCW was joined by No. 2 Delaware, No. 3 Elon and No. 5 William & Mary as winners in an exciting set of quarterfinal matches at the 2024 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Friday at the Mackesy Tennis Center on the campus of William & Mary.


 
#1 UNCW 4, #8 Charleston 0
 
Junior Trey Mallory was part of the clinching points in doubles and singles as top-seeded UNCW (15-5) extended its winning streak to 10 with a 4-0 victory over 8th-seeded Charleston.
 
The Seahawks turned in a dominant performance to earn the doubles point. UNCW’s No. 1 duo of Reece Falck and Harold Huens blanked Matias Gaedechens and JD Rojas, 6-0, before the No. 3 team of Gabriel Hurtado and Mallory beat Zac Larke and Brolin Dorsey, 6-1.
 
UNCW used its depth at the bottom of its singles lineup to secure the win. Jonathan Baron rolled over Evan Pugh, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6 and Hurtado topped Jordy Larke, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4. The match ended at No. 5 as Mallory fought past Rojas, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to send UNCW to the semifinals for the 16th consecutive year.
 
#5 William & Mary 4, #4 Monmouth 1
 
Fifth-seeded William & Mary knocked off 4th-seeded Monmouth, 4-1, avenging a loss to the Hawks in last year’s CAA quarterfinals as well as a 4-3 setback earlier this season.
 
The Tribe got off to a hot start in doubles, using early breaks on all three courts to build momentum. W&M’s No. 2 team of Oliver Hague and Satchel Benn added a second break and earned a 6-3 victory over Adam Hillerby and Gabriel Berner. The Tribe’s No. 3 tandem of Sean Joseph and Alexander Karman clinched the point with a 6-4 triumph over Diego Laporta and Gabriel Busato.
 
W&M pushed its advantage to 2-0 at No. 3 singles as Hague defeated Berner, 6-2, 6-3, but Monmouth trimmed the deficit in half when Mateo Bivol downed Benn, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1. The Tribe was able to close out the victory as Konstantinos Raptis battled past Hillerby, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 and Bill Duo held off Alex Martinez Sanz, 6-4, 6-4. With the win, W&M advances to the CAA semifinals for the 10th time in the past 11 tournaments.
 
#2 Delaware 4, #7 Drexel 2
 
Junior Alexandre Gluck pulled out a second set tiebreaker to send 2nd-seeded Delaware past 7th-seeded Drexel, 4-2.
 
Drexel jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by capturing a competitive doubles point. The Dragons’ No. 2 tandem of Josue Guzman and Egor Kirakosov downed Tobey Lock and Euan Mackenzie, 6-3. The point was clinched at No. 3 when Drexel’s Pierre Humanyou and Hussein El Tawil got a late break and tallied a 6-4 win over Udayan Bhakar and Alexander Gluck.
 
Delaware rallied quickly in singles. Lock defeated Alessio Azzalini, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4, Karol Malriz got past Alan Jesudason, 7-6 (3), 6-3 at No. 1 and Javier Ruiz topped Alex De Sousa, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 3 to put the Hens on top 3-1. The Dragons battled back at No. 5 as Kirakosov earned a three-set win over Bhakar, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The match was decided at No. 6 as Gluck scored the final three points in the tiebreaker to claim a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory to send Delaware to the CAA semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons.
 
#3 Elon 4, #6 Campbell 3
 
Sophomore Oskar Antinheimo pulled out a thrilling third-set tiebreaker lifting 3rd-seeded Elon over 6th-seeded Campbell, 4-3.
 
The Phoenix grabbed the early advantage following an exciting doubles point. Elon’s No. 2 duo of Dylan Heap and Veljko Krstic topped Damien Nezar and Tomas Balazi, 6-3, but Campbell answered with a 6-3 victory by Pol Otin and Luke Tollenaar over Antinheimo and Jack Curtis. The point was decided on the No. 1 court when Elon’s Ben Zipay and Juan Sengariz won the final three games and rallied past Benajamin Maes and Lukas Steffen, 6-4.
 
Campbell roared back in singles, winning three straight matches. Maes beat Daniel Martin, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2, Otin topped Curtis, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 and Nezar held off Krstic, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 1. Elon responded with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win by Sengariz over Balazi at No. 4 and a 7-6 (5), 6-0 triumph by Heap over Tollenaar at No. 6 that evened the match at 3-3. The match came down the No. 3 court, where Antinheimo and Steffen split the first two sets and battled to a 6-6 tie in the third. Trailing 6-5 in the breaker, Antinheimo won two points on his serve to grab a 7-6 advantage and then broke Steffen to cap a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (6) win. The victory puts the Phoenix in the semifinals for the ninth consecutive tournament.
 
The CAA Men’s Tennis Championship continues on Saturday with two semifinal matches. Top-seeded UNCW faces No. 5 William & Mary at Noon followed by No. 2 Delaware against No. 3 Elon at 3 p.m.
 
Visit www.caasports.com/mtennis for live results, recaps and highlights.
 
2024 CAA MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals – April 19, 2024
Mackesy Tennis Center – Williamsburg, Va.
 
#1 UNCW 4, #8 Charleston 0
Singles
#1 Harold Huens (UNCW) vs. Mattia Bernardi (CofC) – DNF, 7-6 (4), 4-2
#2 Bek Rasamatov (UNCW) vs. Zac Larke (CofC) – DNF, 6-2, 5-6
#3 Reece Falck (UNCW) vs. Matias Gaedechens (CofC) – DNF, 6-3, 4-6, 3-3
#4 Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) d. Jordy Larke (CofC), 6-1, 6-0
#5 Trey Mallory (UNCW) d. JD Rojas (CofC), 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
#6 Jonathan Baron (UNCW) d. Evan Pugh (CofC), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 5*
 
Doubles
#1 Falck/Huens (UNCW) d. Gaedechens/Rojas (CofC), 6-0
#2 Rasamatov/Andrew Broadstreet (UNCW) vs. Bernardi/J. Larke (CofC) – DNF, 5-1
#3 Hurtado/Mallory (UNCW) d. Z. Larke/Brolin Dorsey (CofC), 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
 
#5 William & Mary 4, #4 Monmouth 1
Singles
#1 Mateo Bivol (MU) d. Satchel Benn (W&M), 6-3, 6-4
#2 Konstantinos Raptis (W&M) d. Adam Hillerby (MU), 6-3, 6-4
#3 Oliver Hague (W&M) d. Gabriel Berner (MU), 6-2, 6-3
#4 Bill Duo (W&M) d. Alex Martinez Sanz (MU), 6-4, 6-4
#5 Albert Hansen (W&M) vs. Gabriel Busato (MU) – DNF, 6-7 (3), 1-5
#6 Christof Zeiler (MU) vs. Sean Joseph (W&M) – DNF, 5-7, 3-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 4*
 
Doubles
#1 Duo/Raptis (W&M) vs. Bivol/Sanz (MU) - DNF, 5-4
#2 Hague/Benn (W&M) d. Hillerby/Berner (MU), 6-3
#3 Joseph/Alexander Karman (W&M) d. Diego Laporta/Busato (MU), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
 
#2 Delaware 4, #7 Drexel 2
Singles
#1 Karol Malirz (DEL) d. Alan Jesudason (DREX), 7-6 (3), 6-3
#2 Nikolaj Talimaa (DEL) vs. Hussein El Tawil (DREX) – DNF, 2-6, 6-4, 1-4
#3 Javier Ruiz (DEL) d. Alex De Sousa (DREX), 6-3, 7-5
#4 Tobey Lock (DEL) d. Alessio Azalini (DREX), 6-3, 6-2
#5 Egor Kirakosov (DREX) d. Udayan Bhakar (DEL), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
#6 Alexandre Gluck (DEL) d. Josue Guzman (DREX), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 5, 6*
 
Doubles
#1 Malirz/Ruiz (DEL) vs. Jesudason/De Sousa (DREX) – DNF, 5-6
#2 Guzman/Kirakosov (DREX) d. Lock/Euan Mackenzie (DEL), 6-3
#3 El Tawil/Pierre Humayou (DREX) d. Bhakar/Gluck (DEL), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
 
#3 Elon 4, #6 Campbell 3
Singles
#1 Damien Nezar (CU) d. Veljko Krstic (EU), 6-4, 7-5
#2 Benjamin Maes (CU) d. Daniel Martin (EU), 6-2, 6-3
#3 Oskar Antinheimo (EU) d. Lukas Steffen (CU), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
#4 Juan Sengariz (EU) d. Tomas Balazi (CU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
#5 Pol Otin (CU) d. Jack Curtis (EU), 6-4, 6-3
#6 Dylan Heap (EU) d. Luke Tollenaar (CU), 7-6 (5), 6-0
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 1, 4, 6, 3*
 
Doubles
#1 Ben Zipay/Sengariz (EU) d. Maes/Steffen (CU), 6-4
#2 Heap/Krstic (EU) d. Nezar/Balazi (CU), 6-3
#3 Otin/Tollenaar (CU) d. Antinheimo/Curtis (EU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*