Norfolk, Va. – The Old Dominion University men’s tennis team (4-0) will host No. 55 Princeton (1-0) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, and then UMBC at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 2, at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
This weekend’s matches will be the fifth and sixth consecutive home matches for the Tennis Monarchs, as they look to knock off a nationally ranked opponent in Princeton and very talented squad in UMBC, in order to remain undefeated on the season.
So far this season, Old Dominion has defeated Howard (7-0), Richmond (5-2), Norfolk State (6-1) and Morgan State (7-0). Headlining the Monarch’s roster is the 6’4 junior from Madrid, Spain, Carlos Lopez Villa, who is currently nationally ranked No. 30. Lopez Villa is a perfect 4-0 this season and has yet to even lose one set in the prior four matches.
Meet the 2013-14 Princeton Tigers – Saturday, February 1 at 1:00 p.m.
Princeton is under the direction of head coach Billy Pate, who is currently in the midst of his ninth season at the helm for the Tiger’s program. Prior to taking over at Princeton, Pate spent 10 seasons as the head coach at the University of Alabama, where he guided the Crimson Tide to seven NCAA tournament appearances.
Princeton’s roster is headlined by junior Zack McCourt, who was ranked No. 119 among all NCAA Division I tennis players. Teammates Augie Bloom and Jonathan Carcione are the 44th-ranked doubles team in the country.
The Tigers just took down William and Mary 4-3 on Thursday, January 30, in Williamsburg, Va.
The all-time series between ODU and the Tigers favors Princeton, 2-1, with the last meeting occurring in 2009.
Meet the 2013-14 UMBC Retrievers – Sunday, February 2 at 11:00 a.m.
The UMBC men's tennis team opened its 2014 with a 7-0 victory over Prairie View A&M in a match played at Texas-Pan American's tennis complex. Then the Retrievers dropped a 5-0 decision to host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Thomas J. Henry Center to complete their trip in Texas.
UMBC’s Sophomore Melker Svard (Gothenburg, Sweden) advanced to the third round in both singles and doubles competition to highlight UMBC's efforts at the 2013 USTA/ITA Regional Championships, hosted by Virginia Tech University.
Rob Hubbard enters his sixth season as the head coach of the UMBC men’s and women’s tennis programs. Hubbard has piloted the men to the America East Conference title match in each of the past four spring campaigns.
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