By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Aryan Saleh was sick much of this week and wasn’t sure whether he would be able to play Friday night for the Old Dominion men’s tennis team.
As it turns out, the junior from Eschborn, Germany not only played, he played what, so far in his career, was the match of his life.
With the score tied, he and Virginia Tech’s Drew Fishback played a tense, emotional two hour and 15-minute match that went three sets.
Each point seemed to go down to the wire.
Finally, when Saleh clinched the match after a Fishback return was long, he fell to the court, and his teammates mobbed him.
His 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Fishback at No. 5 singles clinched ODU’s 4-3 victory over the Hokies, and there are a number of perspectives from which that victory can be viewed.
It’s far from the first time that ODU, which has powerhouse men’s and women’s tennis programs, has beaten a Power 4 team. In fact, it seems to happen every year.
But this match was against Virginia Tech, the state’s largest school and a member of the ACC, a league ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller says could be the nation’s best in men’s tennis.
And as Bruce Stewart, ODU’s Deputy Athletic Director and Chief Operating Officer said: “In the fall we beat Virginia Tech in football and we beat them in women’s soccer.
“Now we’ve beaten them in men’s tennis.”
And that, I think, is the proper perspective.
It’s a good day anytime you beat the Hokies.
ODU lost two of three doubles matches, and thus needed to win four of the six singles matches to prevail.
ODU’s Adam Majchrzak, a sophomore from Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland, rolled past Tech’s Ilyas Fahim, 6-4, 7-6, in the No. 1 match. Freshman Felix Obermair defeated Tech’s Julian Lozano, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3.
And at No. 6, ODU’s Piet Steveker, a native of Wuppertal, Germany, rolled past Victor Kimpel, 6-1, 6-2.
“Piet is our warrior,” Mueller said. “He’s a transfer from Louisville, so I think beating an ACC team meant a lot to him.”
Saleh’s match was still in the second set when the other matches ended, and so for 40 minutes or so, all eyes were on him.
And like I said, he had been sick. Toward the end of the match, his fatigue was apparent. Mueller and assistant coach Othmane Lalami kept exhorting him to hang in there.
With more than 100 ODU adherents in the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center screaming for the Monarchs, each point he won was greeted with cheers. Between points, there were shouts of encouragement.
“The crowd, they were amazing,” Saleh said. “Honestly, I don’t know whether I would have won without the crowd. There were some times when I was down, when I had doubts. And then I heard the people here yelling and said to myself, ‘I have to keep playing hard. I have to win.’”
Mueller prepared for the match by watching the movie Miracle on Ice with his son last weekend. The movie is about America’s upset of the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympic semifinals in Lake Placid, New York.
“There was a quote in the movie where the American coach (Herb Brooks) said the name on the front of your jersey is more important than the name on the back,” Mueller said. “I told the guys last night that this is especially true for this match. I told them this is a big game for our university. It’s a big game for our athletic department. There are two big schools in our state, even though, in tennis, we don’t feel that way. We’ve earned respect and are not seen as a small underdog. But for our community, we knew this game was important. I told our guys, we’re playing for something bigger than ourselves.”
While his players celebrated, Mueller had a friendly exchange with Virginia Tech Head Coach Jim Thompson.
“I have so much respect for Jim and Virginia Tech’s program,” he said. “Since I got here 10 years ago, he’s always been first class. He’s never looked down on us, and I know for some people that may sound weird. But there are other big schools, other players at big schools, who say things about us under their breath. And Virginia Tech has never done that. Jim always plays us home and away. I have nothing but the greatest respect for him.”
Obermair’s match may, in the end, have been the key win for ODU.
Mueller said the native of Bruck am Ziller, Austria did not have a good fall. He began the spring season at No. 6 and worked his way up to No. 3.
“Lately, he’s been beating everyone in practice sets,” Mueller said. “We felt like coming into the match that he was our wild card. And he played so well.”
As did Saleh, when the chips were down.
Saleh is inspired by his parents, who were both immigrants to Germany. His father, Abdullah, came from Iran and his mother, Ramona, from Romania.
They spoke no German and faced discrimination. They had to work hard to scratch out a living. Mueller, from Frankfurt, Germany, recruited Saleh as much for his work ethic as his talent.
“I know how much this means to the school and to the athletic department,” Saleh said. “We would not have won without my teammates. I’m just one of eight guys.”
True, just one of eight. But when the pressure was on, he delivered in a big way.
And his parents would have been so proud.
Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
To see past stories from Minium, CLICK HERE