Tennis Recap: Rams sweep conference titles
Lecloerec helps men take crown from Monarchs NEWPORT NEWS – The men’s tennis team won its 10th Colonial Athletic Association Championship in 11 years Sunday when they took down Old Dominion 4-2. With the victory the Rams have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Lecloerec helps men take crown from Monarchs
NEWPORT NEWS – The men’s tennis team won its 10th Colonial Athletic Association Championship in 11 years Sunday when they took down Old Dominion 4-2.
With the victory the Rams have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Emil Lindgren (Stocksund, Sweden) and Sebastian Ripoll (Mauleon-Soule) secured the doubles point for the Rams after initially falling behind 7-1.
VCU then jumped to an early 3-0 lead after singles wins from Lindgren and sophomore Damien Lacombe (Perigueux, France), but the Monarchs managed wins in the first and second positions. Sergi Arumi (Barcelona, Spain) sealed the championship win with his 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win.
AWARDS
- Junior Arnaud Lecloerec (Louhinec, France) was recognized for his strong season, earning his second straight CAA Co-Player of the Year award Thursday. Lecloerec, who shared the award with Old Dominion freshman Harel Srugo, managed a 23-8 singles record and is ranked 16th nationally according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
- Sophomore Marianna Yuferova (St. Petersburg, Russia) earned CAA Co-Player of the Year honors on Friday. Megan Moulton-Levy of William and Mary shared the honor with Yuferova. Yuferova was 21-2 in singles play this season and 19-1 in dual matches.
- Petr Olsak (Novy Jicin, Czech Republic) and Israel joined Lecloerec on the CAA first team, and junior Sergi Arumi (Barcelona, Spain) earned second team honors. Arumi and Lleal also earned second-team doubles honors.
- VCU sophomore Tatsiana Uvarova (Minsk, Belarus) is the third straight Ram to win CAA Rookie of the Year, sharing the honor with Katarina Zoricic of William and Mary.
- Paul Kostin was named coach of the year for both teams. He earned his 799th and 800th collegiate coaching victories Friday when both the men’s and women’s teams each won their respective matches 4-0. The women defeated George Mason and the men blanked Hofstra.
On Saturday in the semifinal match, the Rams secured a 4-1 victory over Georgia State. As of Saturday, Senior Francesc Lleal (Barcelona, Spain) had moved into a tie for eight place on VCU’s career singles victory list with his 6-3, 6-1 win over Clarence Boyd.
Sophomores Alex Israel (Marseille, France) and Lacombe sealed wins at the fifth and sixth positions respectively.
Women win 27th straight, remain undefeated
NEWPORT NEWS – Top-seeded VCU won its second Colonial Athletic Association Championship Sunday when it defeated second-seeded William and Mary 4-1. As with the men’s team, the women also have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomores Vera Petrashevitch (St. Petersburg, Russia) and Tatsiana Uvarova (Minsk, Belarus) secured the doubles point with a 8-4 victory.
After losing a point in the third singles match, the Rams won the rest to finish off the Tribe. Rams senior Olga Borisova (Minsk, Belarus) displayed a strong win when she blasted Klaudyna Kasztelaniec 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth singles match.
In the semifinal match Saturday, the women’s team defeated UNC Wilmington 4-0. Borisova moved into a sixth-place tie on the VCU career wins list. Her 63 career singles victories matched former Ram Ilona Poljakova, who played from 1992-1995.