NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s tennis rallied from down 3-1 to defeat in-state rival Virginia Tech 4-3 on Friday night.
"First of all, thanks to our fans and supporters to come out and make this a home court advantage," Head Coach Dominik Mueller said. "Everyone stayed until the end and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced our tennis center so loud. Our guys used that energy and stepped up big time. I thought the moment got to us in doubles and we played tight there. But we stayed calm and slowly found our rhythm in singles. Winning four singles against an ACC team is not easy and I couldn’t be more proud."
Doubles held strong in Virginia Tech’s favor. Hokies Ilyas Fahim and Patrik Jurina took the first match, downing Felix Obermair and Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan on court two, 6-2. Following suit, Blake Hilsen and Eyal Shumilov clinched the first point of the match with a win over Adam Majchrzak and Thomas Nelson on court one, 7-5. No. 3 Zech Hamrouni’s and Piet Steveker’s match against Frank Thompson and Drew Fishback then was suspended at 6-5.
The Hokies kept their momentum going after No. 4 Shumilov downed Moundir (6-3, 6-3), though No. 6 Steveker put the Monarchs on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Victor Kimpel. No. 2 Jurina put Virginia Tech one point away from claiming the match following a 6-2, 7-5 win over Olivier de Sardan, though ODU kept fighting. No. 3 Obermair and No. 1 Majchrzak bested their respective Hokie opponents Julian Lozano (6-4, 6-4) and Fahim (6-4, 7-6) to tie the score.
In a third set with the match on the line, Saleh defeated Fishback in a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory on court five, giving ODU a 4-3 win.
Old Dominion remains home to host South Alabama on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
Doubles:
- Blake Hilsen and Eyal Shumillov (VT) def. Adam Majchrzak and Thomas Nelson (ODU) 7-5
- Ilyas Fahim and Patrik Jurina (VT) def. Felix Obermair and Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU) 6-2
- Zech Hamrouni and Piet Steveker (ODU) vs. Frank Thompson and Drew Fishback (VT) 6-5, unfinished
Singles:
- Adam Majchrzak (ODU) def. Ilyas Fahim (VT) 6-4, 7-6
- Patrik Jurina (VT) def. Jean-Karim Olivier de Sardan (ODU) 6-2, 7-5
- Felix Obermair (ODU) def. Julian Lozano (VT) 6-2, 7-5
- Eyal Shumilov (VT) def. Yanis Moundir (ODU) 6-3, 6-3
- Aryan Saleh (ODU) def. Drew Fishback (VT) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
- Piet Steveker (ODU) def. Victor Kimpel (VT) 6-1, 6-2