WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Old Dominion men’s tennis team will kick off their 2014 fall season this weekend at the Seahawk Invitation hosted by UNCW on Sept. 12-14. ODU senior right-hander, Carlos Lopez Villa, is nationally ranked No. 42 in the ITA Preseason Polls recently announced.
Old Dominion head coach, Aljosa Piric, “We have a good, challenging, schedule this year. In the fall, we will play in some of the best individual tournaments in the country, and our guys will have opportunities to go up against the best players college tennis has to offer.”
The 2014 Monarch roster consists of seven fresh faces and three returners. Headlining the roster is Madrid, Spain-native Lopez Villa who became just the second male in school history to capture the Regional Single’s crown and then went on to complete 20-1 season while going on a nine match winning streak at the No. 1 slot all last year. Lopez Villa was ranked as high as No. 30 last season and was named to his second consecutive Conference USA All-Academic Team and received the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. In two seasons, Lopez Villa is 38-2 overall.
Another key returner for the Monarchs is Zvonimir Podvinski, who was a solid rock for Old Dominion throughout he entire last season, as he put together a 14-7 overall mark at the No. 3/4 slots. The 5’11 right-hander actually performed most brilliantly when he played up at the No. 3 spot, as Podvinski was 9-2 while playing on Court No. 3.
Meet the Seven Monarch Freshmen: CLICK HERE
Last spring, Old Dominion finished the season with a 12-10 overall record while going 11-6 at home and knocking off No. 64 College of Charleston, 4-3, on March 23rd.
After the Seahawk Invitation, the Monarchs compete in Charlottesville for the UVA Ranked +1 on Sept. 19-21. Old Dominion then heads to the Elon Invitational Sept. 26-28 before making the hike to the ITA All-American Tournament from Sept. 27 to Oct. 5 in Tulsa, Okla.
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