NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion University men’s tennis team will take the tennis courts one last time at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center for the 2014 regular season on Saturday, April 12, against cross-town rival and former conference foe, William and Mary at 12:00 p.m. Saturday will also mark the last regular season match for the career of ODU’s senior Dante Terenzio.
“I am very excited for Saturday’s Senior Day Match, I can’t wait; this has been a great college experience for me,” remarked Terenzio. “I can’t believe how quickly everything has gone by, between my two years at Louisville and now these two years at Old Dominion. I try telling everyone else that I come across here to really cherish these moments playing tennis, as it goes by so fast and then before you know it, you gotta hit the real world.”
Terenzio continued, “Old Dominion has given me so much and created an ample amount of opportunities for me to be successful and also find myself along this journey as well. I have been around our [ODU] coaches for a very long time now, and I have actually known Aljosa Piric since I was eight years old. So, it’s nice to not only start with a coach that I am familiar with, but now ending with that same person is a true blessing.”
The Monarchs
The Monarchs are 12-7 on the season, including a 4-3 win over No. 64 ranked College of Charleston on March 23. Old Dominion is 11-5 while playing at home this season. ODU is coming off a hard fought loss at the hands of the University of South Alabama last weekend, but the team has showed their resiliency by having a record of 7-0 coming off of a loss, and has not lost two in a row all season.
No. 77 Carlos Lopez Villa, who is 18-1 on the season and has won eight matches in a row has been a solid rock at the No. 1 slot for Aljosa Piric’s Monarchs. Lopez Villa’s last win over a ranked opponent was against No. 69 Rafael Atia, where he won in dominating fashion 6-1, 6-0.
Zvonimir Podvinski has been steady the entire season and has accumulated a record of 13-6. Podvinski has started in the No. 3 and 4 positions, but has shined as the No. 3 with a record of 8-3.
Old Dominion sophomore Jonas Kuwert has been versatile, playing at four different positions. Kuwert goes into Saturday afternoon’s match with a record of 11-8.
The Tribe
William and Mary has won 13 of its last 16 matches to propel them to a 15-8 overall record this season. The Tribe are coming off a weekend sweep, in which they defeated UMBC 4-3 and Morgan State 7-0. William and Mary has won the initial double’s point in 18 out of 23 matches this season. W&M is 0-7 versus ranked opponents including a 6-1 loss to defending national champions UVA on March 30.
Recently, Ben Guthrie was named the CAA Singles Player of the Week with a record of 13-7 and is 6-2 at the No.1 position Aaron Chaffee and Will Juggins have combined to create the CAA Doubles Team of the Week three times this season, including two weeks in a row and hold a 13-5 record in dual matches. Juggins was also CAA Player of the Week for single’s action and has an overall record of 12-8. The Tribe’s Ben Guthrie and Addison Appleby actually claimed the CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors two weeks in a row. Damon Niquet was also announced as the CAA Player of the Week at the No. 5 spot, while also improving his team leading record to 20-9. In all, the Tribe have amassed seven weekly honors this season for both singles and doubles.
The Optima Health Challenge
Back for its third year, William and Mary and Old Dominion have partnered with title sponsor, Optima Health, to once again compete against one another in the Optima Health Challenge. The winner of Saturday’s match will be awarded 10 points, as the Tribe currently lead the Monarchs by a score of 40-35, with just lacrosse and one final baseball game remaining to be played between the two schools this season.
The Optima Health Challenge runs a score of all the direct competitions between the two schools, with a champion being named at the end of the athletic season and receiving the Optima Health Trophy. In total, the Tribe and Monarchs will compete in 10 different sports during the 2013-14 season.
The scoring system will award 10 points for the overall winner in every ODU-W&M athletic competition. The Tribe and Monarch baseball teams will meet twice in 2014, so each contest will be worth 5 points apiece. A total of 100 points will be awarded this year. The winning school will be the first to tally 55 points. ODU won the opening two years of the Optima Health Challenge, including a narrow 65-55 win last season.
Optima Health provides health plan coverage to more than 415,000 members throughout Virginia.Optima, based out of Virginia Beach, Va., offers a broad spectrumof innovative products and service solutions designed for employers, employees and their families.
Be sure to keep up with all the latest news regarding ODU Men’s Tennis on Facebook; as well as follow @ODUMensTennis on Twitter.