UNCW And Elon Advance To CAA Men's Tennis Finals For Third Time In Past Four Tournaments
Rob Washburn
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 29, 2023) – Top-seeded UNCW and #3 Elon will meet in the finals of the CAA Men’s Tennis Championship for the third time in the past four tournaments after both tallied semifinal victories on Saturday afternoon at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Tennis Courts on the campus of William & Mary.
Both the Seahawks and Phoenix dropped the doubles point before turning in strong efforts in singles. UNCW defeated #4 Drexel, 4-1 to reach the finals for the seventh year in a row, while Elon beat #7 Monmouth, 4-2.
UNCW (16-7) and Elon (15-8) split their two prior matchups in the title match. The Phoenix won 4-3 in 2019 for their first CAA title and the Seahawks earned a 4-2 victory last season for their second straight conference championship and eighth since 2009.
Drexel took an early 1-0 after rallying to claim the doubles point. UNCW’s No. 2 team of Reece Falck and Alex de Gabriele rolled to a 6-1 win over Juan Manuel Sanchez and Pierre Humayou, but the Dragons responded. Drexel’s top team of Alan Jesudason and Alex De Sousa was able to get a service break at 5-5 and edged Trey Mallory and Andrew Broadstreet, 7-5. The Dragons’ No. 3 duo of Matvey Radionov and Daniel Dudockin used the same formula, getting a break at 5-5 against Gabe Hurtado and Bekhzod Rasamatov and holding on for a 7-5 victory.
UNCW responded with an impressive performance in singles. Mallory beat Humayou, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 6 and the Seahawks’ Davide Innocenti topped Hugo Brungs, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5. UNCW extended its lead after Falck picked up a break at 5-4 in the second set to get past Jesudason, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1. The contest ended on Court 4 when Rasamatov picked up a service break at 5-5 in the second set against Radionov and clinched the match with a 6-3, 7-5 win.
Monmouth moved out in front after capturing a competitive doubles point. The Hawks’ No. 2 tandem of Victor Castro and Gabe Busato downed Oskar Antinheimo and Veljko Krstic, 6-3, but Elon answered with a 6-3 victory at No. 1 by Daniel Martin and Nicholas Campbell over Niels Van Noord and Dmitry Bezborodov. The point was decided at No. 3 as Monmouth’s Lucca Silva and Diego Laporta got a couple of early breaks and held off Ben Zipay and Nick Condos, 6-4.
Elon quickly battled back in singles. The Phoenix’s Krstic downed Castro, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 3, and Zipay topped Christof Zeiler, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 6 to take the lead. Elon made it 3-1 when Martin edged Van Noord, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1, but Monmouth cut into the deficit with a 6-2, 6-3 victory by the Hawks’ Alex Zuckerman over Condos at No. 4. Elon was able to seal the victory at No. 2 as Campbell pulled away for a 7-5, 6-1 win over Bezborodov.
The championship match is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at either the Mackesy Tennis Center or the McCormack-Nagelsen Indoor Tennis Center depending on the weather.
#1 UNCW 4, #4 Drexel 1
Singles
#1 Reece Falck (UNCW) d. Alan Jesudason (DU), 6-1, 6-4
#2 Harold Huens (UNCW) vs. Daniel Dudockin (DU) – DNF, 6-1, 3-6, 0-0
#3 Gabriel Hurtado (UNCW) vs. Alex De Sousa (DU) – DNF, 7-6 (5), 4-4
#4 Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) d. Matvey Radionov (DU), 6-3, 7-5
#5 Davide Innocenti (UNCW) d. Hugo Brungs (DU), 6-1, 6-0
#6 Trey Mallory (UNCW) d. Pierre Humayou (DU), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 4*
Doubles
#1 Jesudason/De Sousa (DU) d. Mallory/Andrew Broadstreet (UNCW), 7-5
#2 Falck/Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) d. Juan Manuel Sanchez/Humayou (DU), 6-1
#3 Radionov/Dudockin (DU) d. Hurtado/Rasamatov (UNCW), 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
#3 Elon 4, #7 Monmouth 2
Singles
#1 Daniel Martin (EU) d. Niels Van Noord (MU), 6-4, 6-4
#2 Nicholas Campbell (EU) d. Dmitry Bezborodov (MU), 7-5, 6-1
#3 Veljko Krstic (EU) d. Victor Castro (MU), 6-2, 6-3
#4 Alex Zuckerman (MU) d. Nick Condos (EU), 6-2, 6-3
#5 Oskar Antinheimo (EU) vs. Gabe Busato (MU) – DNF, 7-6 (4), 1-3
#6 Ben Zipay (EU) d. Christof Zeiler (MU), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 1, 4, 2*
Doubles
#1 Martin/Campbell (EU) d. Van Noord/Bezborodov (MU), 6-3
#2 Castro/Busato (MU) d. Antinheimo/Krstic (EU), 6-3
#3 Lucca Silva/Diego Laporta (MU) d. Zipay/Condos (EU), 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*