CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Francois Musitelli and Jannik Giesse of the Old Dominion men’s tennis team won the ITA Atlantic Region Doubles Championship in Charlottesville on Monday. ODU’s Luca Maldoner advanced to the Singles Championship before falling in three sets. Musitelli/Giesse and Maldoner all earned a spot in the 2019 Oracle ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Newport Beach, Cali. on Nov. 6-10.
“I couldn’t be more happy for our players and team,” said ODU head coach Dominik Mueller. “We showed tremendous depth this weekend and advancing to Nationals is just the icing on the cake. Everybody won matches on a high level. This is the third consecutive year we are sending a singles player and a doubles team to Nationals. We are proud to be represented on the national level consistently.”
In doubles, Old Dominion’s No. 1 seed/No. 47 nationally ranked Francois Musitelli/Jannik Giesse won their first five matches, punching their ticket to the Regional Championship against No. 14 seeded Nicaise Muamba/Deji Thomas-Smith from Liberty. In the Doubles Championship, Musitelli and Giesse claimed a straight set 6-4, 6-2 victory to win the regional crown.
In singles, Maldoner took down three straight seeded players on his way to a spot in the Regional Semifinals, where he took on No. 2 seeded and No. 103 nationally ranked Gianni Ross from UVA. In the Semifinals, Maldoner proved to be too much for Ross 7-5, 6-2. Maldoner squared off against UVA’s No. 109 nationally ranked/No. 4 seeded Ryan Goetz in the Championship, in a match Maldoner fell in three sets (7-6(4), 2-6, 4-6).
Three ODU doubles tandems reached the Round of 16: Francois Musitelli/Jannik Giesse, Luca Maldoner/Tomislav Podvinski and Nicola Vidal/Younes Lalami.
Four Monarchs advanced to the Round of 16 in singles: Younes Lalami, Tomislav Podvinski, Luca Maldoner and Nicola Vidal.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ITA REGIONAL
- The tournament has a 256-player singles draw with a consolation match for first-match losers only. The top 32 seeds will be given byes into the round of 64
- The doubles draw consists of 64 teams with a consolation match for first-match losers
- The singles main draw finalists will both receive a berth in the ITA National Fall Championships. The doubles champion will earn a spot in the ITA National Fall Championships
- The Oracle ITA National Fall Championships features 128 of the nation's top collegiate singles players (64 men and 64 women) and 64 doubles teams (32 men's teams and 32 women's teams. This year, it is hosted By Newport Beach Tennis Club & The Tennis Club at Newport Beach Country Club and will be held November 6-10. In its third year, having replaced the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, it is the lone event on the collegiate tennis calendar to feature competitors from all five divisions playing in the same tournament