Old Dominion (17-7, 7-1 Sun Belt) vs. Southern Miss (7-10, 3-5)
Match Info – Friday, 2 p.m.
Location – Rome, Ga.
Tournament Central - here
NORFOLK, Va. – The 56th-ranked Old Dominion men's tennis team begins Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament play on Friday afternoon with a 2 p.m. start against Southern Miss at the Rome Tennis Center.
All matches from the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+ and will have live stats available. Links can be found on the tournament central page by clicking here.
ODU (17-7, 7-1) clinched a share of the Sun Belt Regular Season title by defeating James Madison 4-0 on Saturday in a TowneBank Royal Rivalry match in Harrisonburg. The Monarchs are the second seed in the event to Georgia Southern who defeated ODU 4-3 in Georgia on March 24.
"Tournament time is always different and special. It's never easy beating someone twice in the same year especially with the round robin conference format. Southern Miss will bring their 'A' game and we need to be ready for it," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller.
LAST MEETING
ODU defeated Southern Miss 4-0 on March 30 as they took the doubles point with wins at the top two spots. Jakob Cadonau and Connor van Schalkwyk won 6-2 at No. 1, while Codie van Schalkwyk and Cosme Rolland de Ravel won 6-4 at No. 2 to win the doubles. In singles, Aryan Saleh, Rolland de Ravel and Connor van Schalkwyk won to take the team victory.
ABOUT ODU
Six Monarchs took home All-Sun Belt Conference honors announced on Tuesday afternoon. Connor van Schalkwyk won Freshman of the Year and was a First Team selection in singles and doubles. Codie van Schalkwyk was a First Team Doubles selection, while Cadonau and Rolland de Ravel were also First Team Doubles honorees. Rolland de Ravel was also a First Team Singles choice, while Yanis Moundir was a Second Team Singles pick.
Connor van Schalkwyk finished the spring 17-4 in singles to lead the Monarchs, while Moundir was 16-2, Rolland de Ravel was 13-6 and Saleh was 10-8. In doubles, Moundir and Maxime Mareschal-Hay are 11-6 mainly at No. 3, while Rolland de Ravel and Codie van Schalkwyk are 11-0 at No. 2.
ABOUT SOUTHERN MISS
The Golden Eagles enter the tournament having lost their last five matches to end the regular season at 7-10 overall and 3-5 in league play. That streak started with their match at ODU on March 24.
Olimjon Nabiev is leading them in singles wins this spring with an 8-7 record mainly at No. 3, while Henry Lamchinniah is 7-6 mainly at No. 4. In doubles, Lamchinniah and Dakotah Bobo are 5-5 at No. 1 to lead Southern Miss.
NEXT UP
A win on Friday, puts ODU into the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of Georgia State and Troy.
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Starts Friday For Men's Tennis Against Southern Miss
