CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the quarterfinals of the 2021 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championships, Old Dominion swept Rice by a 4-0 score on Friday afternoon at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex.
"I am very happy about our focus level today," explained ODU head coach Dominik Mueller. "This may have been the toughest two versus seven seed match up in a long time and I'm proud of how we took care of business."
ODU jumped out to a 1-0 lead after picking up doubles wins from Tomislav Podvinski/Pearse Dolan (6-2) and Younes Lalami/Francois Le Tallec (6-4).
Podvinski went on to defeat Mohamed Abdel-Aziz (6-3, 7-5), giving the Monarchs a 2-0 lead. Lalami also won his singles match, taking down Campbell Salmon (6-3, 6-4) to make it a 3-0 advantage Old Dominion. It was Nicola Vidal (6-4, 7-5) who clinched the team victory and a spot in the semifinals for ODU.
The Monarchs (11-9) have claimed victory in seven of their last nine matches, as well as 11 of their last 15 matches. In their last nine matches, the Monarchs have outscored their opponents 35-16. Rice ended the year with a 9-12 overall record.
No. 2 seed Old Dominion will take on No. 3 seed Florida Atlantic in the semifinals on Saturday, April 24 at 12 p.m. EST.
For more information on the 2021 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championships, please visit: Conference USA Championship Central.
Tennis Match Results
Rice vs Old Dominion
4-23-2021 at Charlotte, N.C.
(Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex)
Old Dominion 4, Rice 0
Singles competition
1. Luca Maldoner (ODU) vs. Sumit Sarkar (RICE) 6-1, 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
2. Tomislav Podvinski (ODU) def. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz (RICE) 6-3, 7-5
3. Nicola Vidal (ODU) def. Jacob Eskeland (RICE) 6-4, 7-5
4. Francois Le Tallec (ODU) vs. Wes Barnett (RICE) 7-6 (77-3), 1-4, unfinished
5. Younes Lalami (ODU) def. Campbell Salmon (RICE) 6-3, 6-4
6. Pearse Dolan (ODU) vs. Trinity Grear (RICE) 6-4, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #60 Luca Maldoner/Nicola Vidal (ODU) vs. #75 Sumit Sarkar/Conrad Russell (RICE) 4-4, unfinished
2. Younes Lalami/Francois Le Tallec (ODU) def. Jacob Eskeland/AJ Valenty (RICE) 6-4
3. Tomislav Podvinski/Pearse Dolan (ODU) def. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz/Wes Barnett (RICE) 6-2
Match Notes:
Rice 9-12
Old Dominion 11-9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,5,3)
Conference USA Championship Quarterfinals
Men’s Tennis Advances to Semifinals After 4-0 Sweep Against Rice
