PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – The second-seeded Old Dominion men's tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday with a 4-0 win over seventh-seeded James Madison at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
With the win, ODU (16-9) now faces sixth-seeded Georgia State on Friday at 10 a.m. after the Panthers knocked off third-seeded Louisiana 4-0 in the other quarterfinal match in the top of the bracket.
"Bottom line, while it was a 4-0 win, it was a highly contested match. JMU pushed us really hard and the main reason at the end was 4-0 Younes (Lalami), Jakob (Cadonau) and Nicola (Vidal) found a way to extend their matches by winning second sets and get a DNF which allowed us the momentum to get the win," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller.
In doubles, the Monarchs got on the board with wins at the two and three spots. Francois Le Tallec and Cosme Rolland De Ravel earned the first win with a 6-2 victory at line three, while Cadonau and Luca Maldoner recorded a 6-3 win at line two for the early 1-0 advantage.
"We struggled in doubles early this year and made some changes. Once conference play got going, our doubles teams started clicking and it showed again today," said Mueller.
Singles saw the teams split the first sets with each winning three. ODU got on the board first as Le Tallec defeated Youssef Sadek 6-2, 6-4 at line two, immediately followed by De Ravel with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Julian Lozano at line three to take a 3-0 lead. Maldoner finished the win with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Edson Sanchez at line five.
When looking ahead to Friday's semifinal, Mueller sees a team that's on a roll in the Panthers. "Georgia State is an entirely different team than when we played them three weeks ago. They're getting hot at the right time, are very well coached and it's showing now. We are preparing for a much different match than the regular season one," he said. These teams met in Norfolk on March 25 with ODU taking a 6-1 win.
The semifinal will be streamed on ESPN+ starting at 10 a.m. Friday.
Tennis Match Results
James Madison vs Old Dominion
4/20/2023 at Peachtree City, Ga.
(Peachtree City Tennis Center)
#70 Old Dominion 4, James Madison 0
Singles competition
1. Younes Lalami (ODU) vs. Holden Koons (JMU) 1-6, 6-4, 1-3, unfinished
2. Francois Le Tallec (ODU) def. Youssef Sadek (JMU) 6-2, 6-4
3. CosmeRollandDeRavel (ODU) def. Julian Lozano (JMU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Jakob Cadonau (ODU) vs. Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) 3-6, 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
5. Luca Maldoner (ODU) def. Edson Sanchez (JMU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
6. Nicola Vidal (ODU) vs. Aathreya Mahesh (JMU) 3-6, 6-4, 2-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Younes Lalami/Brandon Perez (ODU) vs. Holden Koons/Youssef Sadek (JMU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Jakob Cadonau/Luca Maldoner (ODU) def. Aathreya Mahesh/Francisco Sinopoli (JMU) 6-3
3. Francois Le Tallec/CosmeRollandDeRavel (ODU) def. Edson Sanchez/Canon Secord (JMU) 6-2
Match Notes:
James Madison 12-10
Old Dominion 16-9; National ranking #70
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,2,5)
ODU No. 2 seed and JMU No. 7 seed
ODU advances to Sun Belt semifinals
Monarchs Blank Dukes To Advance In Sun Belt Tournament
Luca Maldoner