Men's Tennis Visits VCU and Penn State This Weekend

ODU (7-1) at VCU (4-3) | at Penn State (4-5)
When: Friday, Feb. 16 – 3 p.m. | Sunday, Feb. 18 – 1 p.m.
Where: Richmond, Va. | State College, Pa.
Live Stats: VCU | Penn State
Live Video: Penn State
 
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's tennis team starts a six-match road swing this weekend as they visit VCU on Friday and Penn State on Sunday.
 
The VCU match will take place at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond at 3:00 p.m., while ODU will take on Penn State Sunday at the Penn State Indoor Tennis Center at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will have live stats and Penn State will have live video.
 
"We are getting into the nit and grit of our schedule now. VCU already picked up a top 25 road win this season and an away rivalry match is always challenging. Penn State has had some injury problems early on the season, but when they become healthy they are a dangerous team in the Big 10. It's simply another exciting weekend we can build on as a unit," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller.
 
ODU (7-1) played last on February 7 as they swept a "757 doubleheader" at home defeating Norfolk State (4-0) and William & Mary (5-2). Against Norfolk State, Connor van Schalkwyk got the Monarchs on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles. Jakob Cadonau (6-1, 6-1), Cosme Rolland De Ravel (6-2, 6-0) and Yanis Moundir (6-2, 6-0) finished off the Spartans with wins at No. 5, 2 and 3 respectively.
 
Later that night against the Tribe, Cadonau and Rolland De Ravel got the first point in doubles with Moundir and Maxime Mareschal-Hay clinching the point with a win at No. 3. Singles saw ODU go up 3-0 on the strength of wins by Connor van Schalkwyk and Cadonau early. Codie van Schalkwyk clinched the victory with a 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) win at No. 1.
 
So far this spring, Moundir leads with an 8-0 record while Connor van Schalkwyk is 7-0. In doubles, the duo of Mareschal-Hay and Moundir are 7-0, while Cadonau and Rolland De Ravel are 4-1.
 
VCU (4-3) comes into the match Friday after splitting a pair of matches at Mississippi State last weekend. They defeated North Florida (5-2) and lost to the hosts Bulldogs (4-2). The Rams hold wins over then #12-Mississippi State (4-3), Penn (6-1) and Richmond (6-1) and have also lost to Arizona State (4-2) and #8 Duke (4-3).
 
Mathis Bondaz leads the Rams this spring with a 6-0 record in singles mainly at No. 2, while Romain Gales is 5-1. Doubles has the duo of Bondaz and Matisse Bobichon, along with Gales and Tristan Piombo with two wins each.
 
These teams have split their last eight meetings, with VCU winning the last four including last year's 6-1 win in Norfolk.
 
Penn State (4-5) hosts Liberty on Friday before the Monarchs head north. They lost a pair of 4-0 decisions last weekend at St. John's and 10th-ranked Columbia.
 
Miko Eala is 4-0 this spring mainly at No. 2 singles, while Stefan Simeunovic (4-4) and Nolan Ranger (4-5) match Eala in victories. Doubles has Simeunovic and Eala leading with 3-1 marks this spring.
 
ODU and Penn State have split a pair of meetings all-time, with the Monarchs taking last year's match 5-2 in Norfolk.
 
After this weekend, the Monarchs will head to Montgomery, Alabama for the Blue-Gray Tournament on February 23-24.