HOUSTON, Texas – The No. 45 nationally ranked and No. 2 seeded Old Dominion men’s tennis team (21-5) fell to No. 26 nationally ranked and No. 1 seeded Rice (23-7) by a 4-2 score in the Championship of the Conference USA Tournament at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in front of 537 fans on Sunday.
The win is Rice’s sixth in a row and secures the Owls a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Rice jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point with wins from its No. 2 and No. 3 tandems.
The match remained tight, as the Monarchs claimed victory in three of the six first sets in singles.
Adam Moundir tied the match at 1-1, when he made an impressive comeback in the first set and then rolled in the second set over Jamie Malik (7-5, 6-1) in No. 1 singles.
Michael Weindl gave Old Dominion a 2-1 lead after he took down Adam Gustafsson in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) in No. 3 singles.
However, the Owls would manage to pull out the next three singles matches to complete (No. 6, No. 4, and then No. 5) to lift Rice to a 4-2 win on Sunday afternoon in Houston.
The Tennis Monarchs ended the season claiming victory in 19 of their last 21 matches and 21 of their last 24. The loss snapped ODU’s seven-match win streak. At one point this season, Old Dominion won 12 in a row, climbing the national rankings to No. 28.
For more information on the championship, visit the Championship Central page.
Tennis Match Results
Old Dominion University vs. Rice
4/24/2016 at Houston, Texas
(George R. Brown Tennis Center)
#26 Rice 4, #45 Old Dominion University 2
SINGLES
1. Adam Moundir (ODU) def. Jamie Malik (RICE) 7-5, 6-1
2. Tommy Bennett (RICE) vs. Aziz Kijametovic (ODU) 6-2, 5-6, unfinished
3. Michael Weindl (ODU) def. Adam Gustafsson (RICE) 6-2, 6-4
4. Jake Hansen (RICE) def. Javier Jover Maestre (ODU) 6-0, 6-4
5. David Warren (RICE) def. Zvonimir Podvinski (ODU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Emanuel Llamas (RICE) def. Jacob Nicolussi (ODU) 6-3, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. #30 Tommy Bennett/David Warren (RICE) vs. #59 Aziz Kijametovic/Adam Moundir (ODU) 4-1, unfinished
2. Adam Gustafsson/Jamie Malik (RICE) def. Jacob Nicolussi/Michael Weindl (ODU) 6-0
3. Jake Hansen/Emanuel Llamas (RICE) def. Darragh Glavin/Theophile Lanthiez (ODU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Old Dominion University 19-5; National ranking
#45 Rice 23-7; National ranking #26
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,6,4,5)
2016 Conference USA Men's Championship
T-2:25
A-537
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