ROME, Ga. – Old Dominion men’s tennis claimed its third straight Sun Belt Conference Championship following a 4-2 win over Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon. Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan clinched the championship with a 7-6, 7-5 win at No. 5 singles for the Monarchs.
Brother duo No. 84 Codie and Connor Van Schalkwyk set the tone for the championship with the first doubles win of the day, downing Laurent Julia Calac and Aaron Williams on court one, 6-3. No. 2 Cosme Rolland De Ravel and Adam Majchrzak kept the momentum going for the Monarchs with a win over Pol Del Castillo and Dimitris Paliouras (6-3), giving ODU the first point of the match. No. 3 Yanis Moundir’s and Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan’s match against Pierre Mouesca and Matthew Mitchell was suspended at an even 5-5.
No. 123 Connor Van Schalkwyk added on to ODU’s lead with the first singles win, downing Williams (6-2, 6-2) on court two. No. 6 Aryan Saleh followed suit with a confident win over Mitchell (6-1, 6-1) to put the Monarchs one point away from clinching the match. However, Georgia Southern would prolong that victory after No. 3 Del Castillo and No. 4 Mouseca defeated Codie Van Schalkwyk (6-4, 7-6) and Moundir (6-1, 3-6, 6-3) respectively. To complete the three-peat, the freshman Olivier de Sardan bested Julia Calac (7-6, 7-5), giving Old Dominion the championship title.
No. 1 Rolland De Ravel’s match against Paliouras (6-4, 2-6, 1-3) was suspended.
The Monarchs find out their NCAA tournament opponent and destination on Monday, April 28 at 5:30 pm with the selection show airing on NCAA.com.
#56 Old Dominion 4, Georgia Southern 2
Singles competition
- Cosme Rolland De Ravel (ODU) def. Dimitris Paliouras (GS) 6-4, 2-6, 1-3, unfinished
- #123 Connor Van Schalkwyk (ODU) def. Aaron Williams (GS) 6-2, 6-2
- Pol Del Castillo (GS) def. Codie Van Schalkwyk (ODU) 6-4, 7-6
- Pierre Mouesca (GS) def. Yanis Moundir (GS) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
- Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU) vs. Laurent Julia Calac (GS) 7-6, 7-5
- Aryan Saleh (ODU) def. Matthew Mitchell (GS) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
- #84 Connor Van Schalkwyk and Codie Van Schalkwyk (ODU) vs. Laurent Julia Calac and Aaron Williams (GS) 6-3
- Cosme Rolland De Ravel and Adam Majchrzak (ODU) def. Pol Del Castillo and Dimitris Paliouras (GS) 6-3
- Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan and Yanis Moundir (ODU) vs. Pierre Mouesca and Matthew Mitchell (GS) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,6,4,3,5)