UNCW And Elon Advance To Finals Of CAA Men's Tennis Championship For Third Straight Year
Rob Washburn
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 20, 2024) – UNCW and Elon will meet in the finals of the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship for the third year in a row after the top-seeded Seahawks defeated 5
th-seeded William & Mary, 4-0, and the 3
rd-seeded Phoenix knocked off 2
nd-seeded Delaware, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Mackesy Tennis Center.
#1 UNCW 4, #5 William & Mary 0
Top-seeded UNCW (16-5) recorded its 10
th consecutive win and advanced to the finals of the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship for the eighth straight year following a 4-0 victory over 5
th-seeded William & Mary.
UNCW jumped out to a 1-0 lead after capturing a hard-fought doubles competition. The Seahawks’ No. 3 tandem of Gabriel Hurtado and Trey Mallory took advantage of an early break and topped Sean Joseph and Alexander Karman, 6-3. William & Mary (13-10) drew even at No. 2 when Oliver Hague and Satchel Benn took the final two games from Bek Rasamatov and Andrew Broadstreet for a 7-5 triumph. The point was decided at No. 1 as UNCW’s duo of Reece Falck and Harold Huens broke serve at 6-5 and tallied a 7-5 win over Bill Duo and Konstantinos Raptis.
The Seahawks closed out the match with three straight-set victories in singles. Huens was dominant at the No. 1 spot, blanking Benn, 6-0, 6-0. Mallory followed with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Albert Hansen at No. 5. UNCW clinched the match at No. 6 when freshman Jordi Domenech broke serve at 6-5 to pick up a 6-2, 7-5 victory against Joseph.
#3 Elon 4, #2 Delaware 1
Veljko Krstic rallied to win a third-set tiebreaker at No. 1 singles, sending 3
rd-seeded Elon over 2
nd-seeded Delaware, 4-1. With the victory, the Phoenix advanced to the finals of the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship for the fourth time in the past five years.
Elon went out to an early 1-0 advantage by winning a competitive doubles point. The Phoenix No. 2 tandem of Dylan Heap and Krstic took the final three games and posted a 6-2 triumph over Tobey Lock and Euan Mackenzie. Delaware drew even at No. 1 when Karol Malirz and Javier Ruiz broke serve at 6-5 to earn a 7-5 win against Ben Zipay and Juan Sengariz. The point was decided at No. 3 as the Phoenix tandem of Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis held off Udayan Bhakar and Alexandre Gluck, 6-3.
The Phoenix continued the momentum in singles, extending its lead to 3-0. Curtis downed Bhakar, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5 and Sengariz topped Lock, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4. Delaware fought back, getting a 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory at No. 6 by Gluck over Heap. The final three matches went to three sets but was decided on the No. 1 court. After Delaware’s Malirz took the opening set, 6-4, Krstic rallied to claim the second, 6-2. Both players broke serve at 4-all and then held at 5-all to force a tiebreaker. Krstic sprinted out to a 5-1 advantage before clinching the match with a 7-3 win.
UNCW and Elon are scheduled to battle for the title at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
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www.caasports.com/mtennis for live results, recaps and highlights.
2024 CAA MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals – April 20, 2024
Mackesy Tennis Center – Williamsburg, Va.
#1 UNCW 4, #5 William & Mary 0
Singles
#1 Harold Huens (UNCW) d. Satchel Benn (W&M), 6-0, 6-0
#2 Bek Rasamatov (UNCW) vs. Konstantinos Raptis (W&M)
#3 Reece Falck (UNCW) vs. Oliver Hague (W&M)
#4 Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) vs. Bill Duo (W&M)
#5 Trey Mallory (UNCW) d. Albert Hansen (W&M), 6-2, 6-1
#6 Jordi Domenech (UNCW) d. Sean Joseph (W&M), 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 6*
Doubles
#1 Falck/Huens (UNCW) d. Duo/Raptis (W&M), 7-5
#2 Hague/Benn (W&M) d. Rasamatov/Andrew Broadstreet (UNCW), 7-5
#3 Hurtado/Mallory (UNCW) d. Joseph/Alexander Karman (W&M), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1*
#3 Elon 4, #2 Delaware 1
Singles
#1 Veljko Krstic (EU) d. Karol Malirz (DEL), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
#2 Daniel Martin (EU) vs. Nikolaj Talimaa (DEL) – DNF, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 5-2
#3 Oskar Antinheimo (EU) vs. Javier Ruiz (DEL) – DNF, 1-6, 6-4, 5-5
#4 Juan Sengariz (EU) d. Tobey Lock (DEL), 6-3, 7-5
#5 Jack Curtis (EU) d. Udayan Bhakar (DEL), 6-4, 6-1
#6 Alexandre Gluck (DEL) d. Dylan Heap (EU), 7-6 (3), 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 6, 1*
Doubles
#1 Malirz/Ruiz (DEL) d. Ben Zipay/Sengariz (EU), 7-5
#2 Heap/Krstic (EU) d. Lock/Euan Mackenzie (DEL), 6-2
#3 Antinheimo/Curtis (EU) d. Bhakar/Gluck (DEL), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*