NORFOLK, Va. – The 60th-ranked Old Dominion men's tennis team opened Conference USA play on Wednesday afternoon with a 4-0 win over Rice at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
ODU (9-4, 1-0) took the first two spots in doubles to claim the team point. At the top, Luca Maldoner and Yevhen Sirous knocked off Sumit Sarkar and Haoyuan Huang 6-1. The team point was clinched at number two with Younes Lalami and Oliver Nolan scoring a 6-4 win over Wes Barnett and Trinity Grear.
Singles play saw the Monarchs claim wins at two, three and four to lock up the match. Lalami got the first singles win at number three with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Adam Oscislawski. Maldoner put ODU up 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at number two over Emir Sendogan, while Sirous clinched the win with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Grear at the number four spot.
The Monarchs return to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. start against the Penn Quakers.
DOMINIK MUELLER ON ODU'S 4-0 CONFERENCE USA OPENING WIN OVER RICE
"Conference matches are always unique and special and I think our guys handled the challenge really well today. We were in control of the match, but had some moments where we lost focus on some courts. These are the little things we need to do better down the road.