NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's tennis team will play host to the 2022 Conference USA Championships starting on Friday morning at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. ODU, seeded fourth, will take on fifth-seeded UTSA at 2 p.m.
"We are excited to host," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller. "Some players never get to experience post season at home so I'm thankful our players get the experience. Our athletic staff did a tremendous job getting the facility ready and we can promise all teams a fun and high-level tournament. I want to thank everybody involved for their hard work. "
This is a rematch of a 4-2 ODU win on April 1 when the Monarchs took the doubles point and pushed the lead to 3-0 after wins by Oliver Tobisch and Codie van Schalkwyk. The Roadrunners clawed back to 3-2 after a pair of wins before Francois Le Tallec clinched the match.
Middle Tennessee is the top-seed for the event and will face eighth-seeded UAB also at 2 p.m. In the 10 a.m. session, second-seeded Florida Atlantic will take on seventh-seeded Southern Miss and third-seeded Charlotte faces sixth-seeded Rice.
Saturday's semifinals will take place at noon with both matches going simultaneously. The championship match will be Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
Old Dominion is topped in singles by van Schalkwyk and Younes Lalami with 10 wins each, while in doubles Lalami and Oliver Nolan have six wins and the combination of Le Tallec and van Schalkwyk have five.
In the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings announced on Wednesday, the Monarchs came in 64th in the team poll while Le Tallec was ranked 52nd in singles.
"When it comes to tennis, we are ready to make a deep run at this. Our guys have had a great week of practice and looking forward to lay it all on the line this weekend," Mueller said. "We played UTSA before this season and know it will be a challenging task. Please Monarch Nation, come out and support our team Friday at 2pm!"
2022 CONFERENCE USA MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Hosted by Old Dominion University
Friday, April 22
10 a.m. – Match 1: #2 Florida Atlantic vs. #7 Southern Miss
10 a.m. – Match 2: #3 Charlotte vs. #6 Rice
2 p.m. – Match 3: #1 Middle Tennessee vs. #8 UAB
2 p.m. – Match 4: #4 ODU vs. #5 UTSA
Saturday, April 23
12 p.m. – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
12 p.m. – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Sunday, April 24
11 a.m. – championship
Men's Tennis Host C-USA Championships Starting Friday Morning
