ODU (10-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Troy (14-2, 0-0) | vs. South Alabama (5-6, 0-0)
When: March 13, 1 p.m. | March 15 1 p.m.
Where: Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center – Norfolk
Live Stats: Troy | South Alabama
Live Video: Troy | South Alabama
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's tennis team hits the home courts of the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center this week for a pair of matches to open Sun Belt Conference action.
On Wednesday at 1 p.m., the 48th-ranked Monarchs will host Troy. Followed on Friday, also at 1 p.m., with a rematch of last year's Sun Belt Tournament final against South Alabama.
"Conference season has different intensity and counts differently. As a competitor, these are the matches you are looking for. Last year, we had the same opening weekend and learned the hard way how challenging the Sun Belt is. So we are ready to get it started this week," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller.
Last year, in the first-ever meeting between the schools, the Monarchs took a 4-3 win at Troy as Jakob Cadonau and Codie van Schalkwyk each took three-set victories for the final two points in a comeback victory. With South Alabama, the Monarchs fell 4-3 on the road in the regular season match and defeated the Jaguars 4-2 to take the tournament crown. The Jaguars lead the all-time series 6-5.
Old Dominion (10-4) starts league play after falling 5-2 at Liberty on Friday. The Monarchs took the doubles point with a pair of 6-4 wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. In singles, Yanis Moundir won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4 for the lone victory. Connor van Schalkwyk leads the team in spring singles wins with 11, while Moundir has 10 wins. In doubles, the duos of Cadonau and Cosme Rolland de Ravel along with Moundir and Maxime Mareschal-Hay have eight wins this spring.
The Monarchs are spotted throughout the individual national rankings, as van Schalkwyk is 83rd in singles. In doubles, Cadonau and Rolland de Ravel are 45th and Connor van Schalkwyk with his brother Codie van Schalkwyk are 23rd.
Troy (14-2) enters the match Wednesday on a six-match winning streak having defeated Tennessee State 4-3 on Monday in its last match. Mario Martinez leads the Trojans this spring going 16-0 at the No. 1 spot and is ranked 71st nationally. He is the highest-ranked Sun Belt player to date.
South Alabama (5-6) defeated North Florida 5-2 in its last match last Thursday. Juan Accossatto leads the Jaguars in spring singles wins with six, while Rotislav Halfinger and Harold van Raemdonck have five each.
Old Dominion will head to Georgia next week for a pair of league matches as they face Georgia State on March 22 and Georgia Southern on March 24.
Men's Tennis Starts Sun Belt Play Hosting Troy and South Alabama
Yanis Moundir