RICHMOND, Va. -- The Old Dominion men's tennis team started a road weekend with a big 4-3 win over in-state rival VCU on Friday afternoon at the Country Club of Virginia Indoor facility.
With the win, ODU (8-1) snaps a four-match losing streak to the Rams and are off to their best start since 2020 when they also opened 8-1.
"This team worked hard to earn this win. VCU has gotten the better of us the last couple of years and already has a top 25 road win on their resume," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller. "Some heroic effort today to make this happen. Our freshmen stepped up big time today and Yanis Moundir saving four match points was amazing to watch. Just very happy for this group since I see them working hard every single day."
Doubles saw the Rams take the first victory at No. 3 in a 6-3 count. ODU evened the doubles with the 19th-ranked duo in the country spearheading a 7-6 (7-4) win for Codie van Schalkwyk and Connor van Schalkwyk over German Samofalov and Oscar Pinto Sansano.
The Monarchs took the team point as the 34th-ranked duo of Jakob Cadonau and Cosme Rolland De Ravel scored a 7-5 win over Romain Gales and Tristan Piombo for an early 1-0 ODU advantage.
Singles saw ODU take an early 2-0 lead as Connor van Schalkwyk, moving up to the No. 1 spot, knocked off the 36th-ranked Matisse Bobichon 6-3, 6-1. The win was his first of the spring over a nationally-ranked opponent.
VCU pulled to 2-1 after a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2, but ODU responded with a victory by Yanis Moundir at No. 3 saving off four match points and winning 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-8) to push the advantage to 3-1. The Rams got back to 3-2 following a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4.
Aryan Saleh got the match clinching victory taking down Tristan Piombo 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5 for a 4-2 lead. The Rams got the final win at No. 6 in a 6-3, 6-4 decision.
ODU now heads to Penn State for a 1:00 p.m. match on Sunday.
Tennis Match Results
Old Dominion vs VCU
2/16/2024 at Richmond, Va.
(The Country Club of Virginia)
Old Dominion 4, VCU 3
Singles competition
1. Connor van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) def. #36 MATISSE BOBICHON (VCUMEN) 6-3, 6-1
2. #65 MATHIS BONDAZ (VCUMEN) def. Codie van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) 6-4, 6-4
3. Yanis Moundir (ODU-M) def. OSCAR PINTO SANSANO (VCUMEN) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-8)
4. ROMAIN GALES (VCUMEN) def. CosmeRolland DeRavel (ODU-M) 6-4, 6-2
5. Aryan Saleh (ODU-M) def. TRISTAN PIOMBO (VCUMEN) 6-3, 6-2
6. HAMZA EL AMINE (VCUMEN) def. Jakob Cadonau (ODU-M) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #19 Codie van Schalkwyk/Connor van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) def. GERMAN SAMOFALOV/OSCAR PINTO SANSANO (VCUMEN) 7-6 (7-5)
2. #34 CosmeRolland DeRavel/Jakob Cadonau (ODU-M) def. ROMAIN GALES/TRISTAN PIOMBO (VCUMEN) 7-5
3. MATISSE BOBICHON/MATHIS BONDAZ (VCUMEN) def. Yanis Moundir/Maxime Mareschal-Hay (ODU-M) 6-3
Match Notes:
Old Dominion 8-1,
VCU 4-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6)
Men's Tennis Moves To 8-1 On Year With Win At VCU
Aryan Saleh with the clincher on Friday as ODU defeated VCU