ORLANDO, Fla. - Third-seeded VCU took down reigning champions, No. 2 George Washington, 4-3, Saturday in the 2017 Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis semifinals at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The Rams will face crosstown rival, Richmond, who defeated Dayton earlier in the day.
In doubles play, George Washington got off to a hot start, leading on each of the three courts. Chris Reynolds and Jakub Behun finished first at No. 3 doubles against Javier Amantegui and Louis Ishizaka, 6-4, to give the Colonials the edge. They clinched the opening match point at No. 2 doubles when Christos Hadjigeorgiou and Fernando Sala defeated Vitor Lima and Arvid Noren by the same score. Top doubles was knotted at 4-4 when the match was called.
The Colonials extended their match lead as Reynolds took a straigh set decision over Noren, 6-1, 6-2. The Rams answered back quickly, as No. 6 Javier Amantegui won the second set tiebreak over William Tutecky. At No. 2 singles, Marten Jonsson needed a nine-point tiebreaker in the first set, and won 6-3 in the second set against Chris Fletcher to even the match at 2-2.
At top singles, Julius Tverijonas and Daryl Monfils split sets, but Tverijonas would earn the 6-4 crucial third set victory to give the Colonials back the lead.
Both courts five and four were also forced into third sets. In rapid succession, VCU's Ignacio Rivero Crespo and Vitor Lima each finished their final sets, 6-2, to first tie the match at three-all, and then clinching the match at court four.
The Rams will face top-seeded Richmond on Sunday at 1pm on ESPN3. VCU last won the A-10 Championship in 2013, defeating George Washington, who then won three straight titles.
#3 VCU def. #2 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 4-3
SINGLES
1. Julius Tverijonas (GW) def. Daryl Monfils (VCU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2. Marten Jonsson (VCU) def. Christopher Fletcher (GW), 7-6(9), 6-3
3. Chris Reynolds (GW) def. Arvid Noren (VCU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Vitor Lima (VCU) def. Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
5. Ignacio Rivero Crespo (VCU) def. Dennis Afanasev (GW), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Javier Amantegui (VCU) def. William Tutecky (GW), 6-2, 7-6
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 2, 1, 5, 4
DOUBLES
1. Julius Tverijonas/Christopher Fletcher (GW) vs. Daryl Monfils/Marten Jonsson (VCU), 4-4, DNF
2. Christos Hadjigeorgiou/Fernando Sala (GW) def. Vitor Lima/Arvid Noren (VCU), 6-4
3. Chris Reynolds/Jakub Behun (GW) def. Javier Amantegui/Louis Ishizaka (VCU), 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 2
ORLANDO, Fla. – The top-seeded Richmond Spiders are moving on to the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship match after defeating No. 5 Dayton 4-1 in Saturday's semifinal action at USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The Spiders will face their cross-town rival VCU tomorrow at 1:00 pm, the match will be broadcasted live on ESPN3.
The Spiders opened play strong taking the doubles point with victories at No. 3 and No. 1. James Aronson and John Karlawish only dropped one game, quickly taking a 6-1 victory over their Flyer's opponents. Jacob Dunbar and Alex Felisa clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory at the top spot. Jon Quenard and Caleb Troy from Dayton were tied 5-5 with Jordan Benjamin and Lorenzo Rollhauser as the match was haulted.
Dayton's Andy Druffel made the match even, taking No. 6 singles in straight sets, with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Quenard. The Spiders answered with a 6-3, 6-4 decision at No. 2 to put Richmond back on top. Karlawish pushed the Spiders up by two with his 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 over Simon Jayaram. The Flyers put up a fight in the last three positions, taking all games to three sets. Canyon Teague was the deciding factor as he claimed a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory for the Spiders, sending them to the championship match.
#1 RICHMOND def. #5 DAYTON, 4-1
SINGLES
1. Jacob Dunbar (UR) vs. Jordan Benjamin (UD), 4-6, 6-2, 4-1 (DNF)
2. Alex Felisa (UR) def. Carsten Fisher (UD), 6-3, 6-4
3. Caleb Troy (UR) vs. Zach Berry (UD), 2-6, 7-5, 3-2 (DNF)
4. John Karlawish (UR) def. Simon Jayaram (UD), 6-1, 7-5
5. Canyon Teague (UR) def. Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD), 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
6. Andy Druffel (UD) def. Jon Quenard (UR), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 4, 5
DOUBLES
1. Jacob Dunbar/Alex Felisa (UR) def. Carsten Fisher/Zach Berry (UD), 6-3
2. Jon Quenard/Caleb Troy (UR) vs. Jordam Benjamin/Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD), 5-5 (DNF)
3. James Aronson/John Karlawish (UR) def. Graham Reinbold/Andy Druffel (UD), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1