UNCW Captures Fourth Straight CAA Men's Tennis Championship

4/21/2024 5:22:28 PM

Rob Washburn

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 21, 2024) – Top-seeded UNCW (17-5) captured its fourth straight CAA Men’s Tennis Championship, defeating 3^rd-seeded Elon, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. It was the 11^th consecutive victory for the Seahawks, who became the first team to win four straight CAA men’s tennis titles since VCU reeled off nine in a row from 1996-2004.

UNCW jumped out to a 1-0 advantage after claiming a competitive doubles point. Elon’s No. 3 tandem of Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis sprinted out to a 3-0 lead and posted a 6-2 victory over Gabriel Hurtado and Trey Mallory. The Seahawks pulled even at No. 1 when Reece Falck and Harold Huens got a break at 2-1 and went on to a 6-3 triumph over Ben Zipay and Juan Sengariz. The point was decided at No. 2, where UNCW’s Andrew Broadstreet and Bek Rasamatov broke serve at 3-3 and held off Dylan Heap and Veljko Krstic, 6-4.

Elon (16-8) tied the match at 1-1 as Heap downed Jordi Domenech, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 6. However, the Seahawks regained the momentum when Falck topped Antinheimo, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3 and Mallory beat Curtis, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 to push the UNCW advantage to 3-1. The Seahawks were able to close out the match at No. 1, where Huens battled past Krstic, 6-4, 6-2.

It was the 10^th CAA men’s tennis title for UNCW since 2009 under head coach Mait DuBois. The Seahawks earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, with the field set to be announced on April 29. Elon reached the finals of the tournament for the fourth time in the last five years.

2024 CAA MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Finals – April 21, 2024
McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center – Williamsburg, Va.

#1 UNCW 4, #3 Elon 1
Singles
#1 Harold Huens (UNCW) d. Veljko Krstic (EU), 6-4, 6-2
#2 Bek Rasamatov (UNCW) vs. Daniel Martin (EU) – DNF, 6-7 (4), 4-4
#3 Reece Falck (UNCW) d. Oskar Antinheimo (EU), 6-1, 6-3
#4 Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) vs. Juan Sengariz (EU) – DNF, 2-6, 6-0, 5-2
#5 Trey Mallory (UNCW) d. Jack Curtis (EU), 6-3, 6-4
#6 Dylan Heap (EU) d. Jordi Domenech (UNCW), 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5, 1*

Doubles
#1 Falck/Huens (UNCW) d. Ben Zipay/Sengariz (EU), 6-3
#2 Rasamatov/Andrew Broadstreet (UNCW) d. Heap/Krstic (EU), 6-4
#3 Antinheimo/Curtis (EU) d. Hurtado/Mallory (UNCW), 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*