Men’s Tennis Starts League Play With 4-2 Win Over Troy

NORFOLK, Va. – In a battle of nationally-ranked players at No. 1 spot on Wednesday, Old Dominion freshman Connor van Schalkwyk took a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over Mario Martinez as the Monarchs started Sun Belt play with a 4-2 win over Troy.
 
Van Schalkwyk, ranked 83rd nationally, raced out to a 5-1 lead in the final set against Martinez who was ranked 71st and had not lost this spring going 16-0 until Wednesday.
 
In doubles, ODU (11-4, 1-0) took the team point with wins at the top two spots. After Troy (14-3, 0-1) won at No. 3, the Monarchs evened the doubles with a 6-3 win by Codie van Schalkwyk and Cosme Rolland de Ravel over Yeray Pastor and Carles Anton at No. 2. Connor van Schalkwyk and Jakob Cadonau took the last two points at No. 1 to claim a 7-5 win over Noah Martens and Nicolas Simkin for an early 1-0 lead.
 
Yanis Moundir put the Monarchs up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Benjamin Ambrosio at No. 4 to start singles. Troy responded with straight set wins at No. 3 and No. 5 to tie the match. Maxime Mareschal-Hay gave the hosts a 3-2 lead after a 7-6, 6-3 win over Luciano Alcocer prior to Connor van Schalkwyk's three-set win.
 
"The guys responded to the task today. We challenged them during the week, and they listened and stepped up. We were competitive on every court so it was a total team win. Looking forward to play again on Friday," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller.
 
ODU returns to action on Friday hosting South Alabama at 1 p.m. in a rematch of the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Championship match won by the Monarchs.
 
Tennis Match Results
Troy vs Old Dominion
3/13/2024 at Norfolk, Va.
(Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center)
#48 Old Dominion 4, Troy 2
Singles competition
1. #83 Connor van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) def. #71 Martinez, Mario (TROY) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
2. Cosme Rolland De Ravel (ODU-M) vs. Anton, Carles (TROY) 6-1, 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
3. Martens, Noah (TROY) def. Codie van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) 6-3, 6-4
4. Yanis Moundir (ODU-M) def. Ambrosio, Benjamin (TROY) 6-2, 6-1
5. Pastor, Yeray (TROY) def. Aryan Saleh (ODU-M) 6-4, 6-2
6. Maxime Mareschal-Hay (ODU-M) def. Alcocer, Luciano (TROY) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Connor van Schalkwyk/Jakob Cadonau (ODU-M) def. Martens, Noah/Simkin, Nicolas (TROY) 7-5
2. Codie van Schalkwyk/Cosme Rolland D eRavel (ODU-M) def. Pastor, Yeray/Anton, Carles (TROY) 6-3
3. Martinez, Mario/Alcocer, Luciano (TROY) def. Yanis Moundir/Maxime Mareschal-Hay (ODU-M) 6-3
Match Notes:
Troy 14-3, 0-1
Old Dominion 11-4, 1-0; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,5,3,6,1)