Sports Briefs

Men’s tennis reaches Blue-Gray final

Montgomery, Ala. – VCU’s men’s tennis team rolled into the finals of the Blue-Gray Tennis Classic with a 4-3 victory over No. 39 Tulsa Saturday, a 4-2 win against 37th-ranked Texas Tech Friday and a 4-3 nail-biter against No. 38 Colorado.

The Rams were swept in doubles and lost at the first and second singles spots before Francesc Lleal (Barcelona, Spain), Georges-Alexandre Israel (Marseille, France), Sergi Arumi (Barcelona, Spain) and Damien Lacombe (Perigueux, France) picked up victories to give the Rams the win over the Golden Hurricanes.

Arumi registered singles victories against the Golden Hurricanes, Red Raiders and Buffaloes.

Arnaud Lecloerec (Plouhinec, France), the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s 19th-ranked player, pounded the Red Raiders’ top player Adrian Prpic 6-0, 6-2, but dropped a 6-3, 6-1 decision to the Golden Hurricanes’ Arnau Brugues.

Tied 3-all after the singles portion, the Rams pulled out doubles wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to nip the Buffaloes.

The Rams, seeking their third win in four years, played No. 20 Notre Dame Sunday in the championship.

Women’s tennis passes tough test

Mobile, Ala. – The 18th-ranked VCU women’s tennis team weathered its toughest challenge of the season Wednesday, pulling out a 4-3 victory over South Alabama. Then the Rams moved on to trounce Tennessee State 6-1 on Friday. They also crushed Southeastern Louisiana 7-0 March 14.

Marianna Yuferova (St. Petersburg, Russia), Olga Borisova (Minsk, Belarus), Vera Petrashevitch (St. Petersburg, Russia) earned singles and doubles wins in all three matches.

Borisova’s singles win put the Rams on top 4-1, but VCU lost the remaining two matches for the final margin. It was the first time the Rams have lost more than one singles match.

The Rams host Hampton at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Thalhimer Tennis Center.

Bolden earns CAA distinction

VCU freshman Jared Bolden (Lynchburg/E.C. Glass) was named the conference’s player of the week on March 15. Bolden batted .667 for the week with two doubles, a triple, seven runs and five RBI. The first baseman had a pair of four-hit games. Bolden, who has been named CAA Rookie of the Week twice, also pitched 4.1 innings in a win against Norfolk State, striking out three batters.

Chappell shines in Palmetto

Aiken, S.C. – Junior Daryl Chappell (Dinwiddie High School) shot a final-round 69 to finish in a tie for second place and lead the Rams to a third-place spot at the Palmetto Intercollegiate on March 14.

Chappell’s sub-par round left him just three strokes behind Houston’s Jordan Irwin, who won the tournament. The Rams finished four strokes behind Houston and host South Carolina-Aiken.

The Rams are playing the Pinehurst Intercollegiate, which ends Tuesday.

VCU extends Capel’s contract

VCU Director of Athletics Richard L. Sander announced that men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel’s contract was extended by two years, keeping the coach through 2012.

During Capel’s four seasons at VCU, he has led the Rams to the most wins and the highest winning percentage of any Division I program in Virginia.