NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The VCU Rams have been chosen as the top seed in the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Tennis Championship, the league announced Tuesday. The championship begins Thursday, April 25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The defending champion Rams finished their spring campaign with a 13-9 record. Inigo Torre Martin and Arvid Noren were the top doubles team for the Rams, posting a 16-1 record in dual match play. VCU earned a first-round bye and will face the winner of the No. 8 Duquesne/No. 9 Saint Joseph’s on Friday at 9:00 am.
Richmond (16-5), is seeded second and will look to claim their fifth-ever Atlantic 10 Men’s Tennis Championship, and first since 2006. The Spiders also get a bye, and will take on the winner of the No. 7 Fordham/No. 10 Saint Louis on Friday at noon. Junior George Lovitt has been hot for the Spiders, winning won six straight matches to help Richmond win four in a row to close out the regular season.
The third seed of the championship goes to Davidson (12-8), who will get the winner of the No. 6 George Mason/No. 11 La Salle on Friday at noon. The Wildcats are led by freshman Sam Kavarana, who leads the team team with 13-4 single record, was a three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week winner and is riding a 3-match win streak entering the A-10 Championship.
Dayton (15-7) earns the final first-round bye as the four seed in the A-10 Championship and will face the winner of the No. 5 George Washington/No. 12 St. Bonaventure matchup on Friday at 9:00 am. GW is looking to claim its sixth title since 2011, while Dayton has never won an A-10 title.
Thursday’s first round action opens with No. 8 Duquesne (12-10) and No. 9 Saint Joseph’s (6-15) and No. 5 George Washington versus No. 12 St. Bonaventure (6-15) at 9:00 am. The winners move on to face VCU and Dayton, respectively.
In the afternoon session, No. 6 George Mason (11-9) will square off against No. 11 La Salle (4-18) and No. 7 Fordham (15-5) will challenge No. 10 Saint Louis (2-11) at noon. The winners earn a spot in Friday’s second set of quarterfinal matches, and will take on Davidson and Richmond, respectively.
The semifinals will be played Saturday at 10:00 am and the championship finale is Sunday at 10:00 am and will be broadcasted on, ESPN+, the new home for live Atlantic 10 action. Admission will be free for the A-10 Championships. The winner of the 2019 Atlantic 10 Men’s Tennis Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Sunday's championship final will be streamed in conjunction with the USTA on ESPN+, and will be available for international viewers here. All other rounds will be streamed through the USTA website's Playsight system, which allows viewers to select the court they wish to watch.