Men’s Tennis set to defend A-10 tournament title

Sterling Giles
Contributing Writer

As the 2013-14 men’s tennis regular season wraps up, teams across the conference are preparing for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship to be played April 17-20 at Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.

At the same time, head coach Paul Kostin’s VCU squad is hoping to repeat as A-10 tournament champions after winning the championship one season ago.

Several teams in the conference still have multiple matches remaining in the regular season; therefore, the following seed projections are tentative.

Beginning on April 17, the match ups are as follows: No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, No. 7 and No. 10 seeds, and the No. 6 and No. 11 seeds. In the first match, LaSalle University will likely garner the No. 8 seed, while Dayton University will clinch the No. 9 seed. The teams haven’t played each other during the regular season; however, both teams are 1-1 in conference play.

Additionally, both teams have suffered on the road during the regular season, which may factor in to how they will perform on the tournament stage. LaSalle (7-10) with one game remaining and Dayton (6-9) with three remaining games, could alter the seeding and have Dayton as the No. 8 seed and LaSalle at No. 9.

The University of Richmond and St. Bonaventure University will likely serve as the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds respectively. In the teams’ only regular season match up, the Spiders blew out the Bonnies 7-0. However, both teams have the same conference records, at 1-3. The projected seedings for these teams will most likely remain the same because Richmond is 9-12 on the season with two remaining games remaining and St. Bonaventure is 5-15 also with two games left.

Finishing out the first-round match-ups will likely be Saint Louis University at No. 6 and Fordham University at No. 11. Saint Louis edged Fordham with a 4-3 victory during the regular season. The Billikens played well in conference play at 2-1, while the Rams struggled at 1-4. Also, due to the notable difference in rankings, SLU possesses the stronger record and is favored to win this match-up.

The following day, the No. 4 seed will take on the No. 5 seed. Additionally, the No. 1 seed will take on the winner of the No. 8 and No. 9 match up. The No. 2 seed will take on the winner of the No. 7 and No. 10 match up. Finally, the No. 3 seed will take on the winner of the No. 6 and No. 11 match.

George Mason University, likely the No. 4 seed, will probably take on former A-10 Champion and No. 5 seed VCU in the second round. The two teams did not face each other during the regular season but experienced success in conference play; GMU was 2-1 and VCU was 1-0. The Patriots had three games remaining entering this past weekend, all of which are against conference opponents. Depending on how the Patriots perform in these games, they may be able to move into one of the top-three slots. VCU will most likely retain the No. 5 seed because it has concluded regular season play.

Duquesne University will most likely claim the highest-ranked seed. The Dukes have the best record in the conference at 13-5. In addition, they are perfect in conference play, at 5-0. Thereby, due to the team’s solid regular season performance, Duquesne is favored to win its second-round match up.

Saint Joseph’s University and George Washington University will likely serve as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds respectively. SJU has three games left on the season, while GWU has two games remaining. These games may alter the top-three slots, however, due to the elite level of play Duquesne has exhibited so far this season, it will likely retain the top seed.

Kostin’s team has its work cut out for them in the A-10 tournament. Hypothetically, if VCU is able to defeat GMU in the second round, they will still have to face Duquesne in the following round. Furthermore, Duquesne is projected to face Saint Joseph’s in the final game on April 20, resulting in the Dukes notching the crown.