NORFOLK, Va. – Heading into a big home match on Thursday against former conference rival Charlotte, the Old Dominion men's tennis team learned of some news on Wednesday afternoon with Cosme Rolland De Ravel being named Sun Belt Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week.
Rolland De Ravel went a combined 4-0 on the week winning both singles matches and pairing with Francois Le Tallec to win both doubles matches. Against VCU, Rolland De Ravel scored a 6-4, 6-2 win in singles and won 6-1 in doubles. The next afternoon at William & Mary, he won 6-2, 6-3 at line four singles and won another 6-1 decision in doubles. On the spring, he is 4-3 in singles and 5-1 in doubles.
This marks the second honor for the men's tennis team as Codie van Schalkwyk won in the opening week of the season.
ODU returns to action on Thursday hosting Charlotte outside at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center at 1 p.m. With the forecast of nearly 80 degrees on Thursday, this match will be outside.
The Monarchs enter 6-4 after defeating William & Mary 5-2 last Saturday in Williamsburg. ODU took the doubles point and had wins in the first three completed singles matches to clinch the victory.
In singles, van Schalkwyk leads the team in wins with a 6-3 mark, while Nicola Vidal, Rolland de Ravel and Le Tallec have four wins each. Doubles has Rolland de Ravel and Le Tallec leading with a 3-0 record.
The latest national rankings were released on Tuesday and the Monarchs enter the rankings at #62, while the doubles pairing of Younes Lalami and Brandon Perez are ranked 36th.
Charlotte (4-4) enters the match after defeating UNC Asheville 6-1 on Saturday. Ivan Dreycopp, Matias Iturbe and Coy Simon lead in singles with four. The Niners are ranked #60 in the latest poll.
The weekend closes for the Monarchs on Sunday at 11 a.m. hosting St. John's (9-1). The Red Storm have won seven in a row heading into a Wednesday match at Penn State. Sergio Molina was named Big East Player of the Week on Monday winning both matches last week and is now 8-0 on the season.
ODU HEAD COACH DOMINIK MUELLER ON HOMESTAND
The home and away with Charlotte has been as competitive as it gets over the last couple years. Both matches essentially came down to third set tie-breakers and the current rankings also indicate a toss-up match (#60 vs #62). Being old Conference opponents will also make it a fun atmosphere and should prepare us for the upcoming conference schedule.
St. John's is probably the favorite to win the Big East this year and we are excited to host a high level team like that. They have won a lot of matches this season already and will come with a lot of confidence
Rolland De Ravel Named Sun Belt Conference Player Of The Week
