ORLANDO - The top-seeded VCU Rams defeated eighth-seeded Duquesne 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship Friday, held at the USTA National Campus.
The Rams got off to an early match lead when they won the doubles point at the No. 1 and No. 3 courts. First, the top pair of Inigo Torre Martin and Arvid Noren made quick work, recording the 6-1 victory. On court two, Dukes' Chris Corrao and Joey Matthews were leading 6-5, when the Rams clinched the point at No. 3 doubles behind a 6-4 victory from Inaki Rivero Crespo and Philip Mobius.
Crespo continued the momentum for the Rams as he extended the lead with a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles. Timo Zgraggen followed suit No. 6 singles, winning 6-2, 6-0 for a 3-0 match lead.
Duquesne's Corrao took a first set victory over Rayane Stable, but the match would finish as Martin defeated Alex Mascioli, 6-0, 6-3, clinching the 4-0 victory for VCU.
The Rams will take on the winner of No. 4 Dayton/No. 5 George Washington.
MATCH #5
#1 VCU def. #8 DUQUESNE, 4-0
SINGLES
1. Chris Corrao (DUQ) vs. Rayane Stable (VCU) 6-4, 2-5, DNF
2. Philip Mobius (VCU) vs. Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal (DUQ) 6-1, 3-5, DNF
3. Inigo Torre Martin (VCU) def. Alex Mascioli (DUQ) 6-0, 6-3
4. Javier Amantegui (VCU) vs. Drew Akins (DUQ) 7-6(6), DNF
5. Inaki Rivero Crespo (VCU) def. Jared Isaacs (DUQ) 6-0, 6-1
6. Timo Zgraggen (VCU) def. Joey Matthews (DUQ) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3
DOUBLES
1. Inigo Torre Martin/Arvid Noren (VCU) def. Jared Isaacs/Alex Mascioli (DUQ) 6-1
2. Chris Corrao/Joey Matthews (DUQ) vs. Javier Amantegui/Rayane Stable (VCU) 6-5, DNF
3. Inaki Rivero Crespo/Philip Mobius (VCU) def. Dane Bendel/Alejandro Rodriguez-Vidal (DUQ) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3
ORLANDO - The fourth-seeded Dayton Flyers advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championships with a 4-1 victory over the fifth-seeded George Washington Colonials Friday at the USTA National Campus.
The Flyers made a statement in doubles play, striking first on court No. 3 where Steven Karl and Lorenzo Rollhauser earned a 6-3 victory. George Washington got out to 5-3 leads on both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, but the Flyers mounted a comeback on each, forcing the tiebreaker. Dayton's Langford Hills and Joe DeMarco battled Jakub Behun and Lawrence Sciglitano back and forth, with the advantage to UD, 10-9 when Spencer Richey and Jordan Benjamin, also in a tiebreak, dispatched their opponents, finishing 7-6(5) to clinch the crucial opening point.
Following a move indoors due to weather, Hills gave the Flyers a 2-0 match lead in singles play, defeating Ryan Navarro at No. 2 (6-3, 6-4) before Hanyu Liu gave GW its first point of the day, picking up a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles.
After dropping his first set, UD's Benjamin rattled off straight sets to extend the Flyers lead, 3-1. With both No. 3 and No. 5 singles splitting sets that included tiebreakers, the match came down to Steven Karl and Jakub Behun on the No. 4 court. Behun took the first set, 6-3 before Karl rebounded with a 7-5 second set. Karl completed the comeback, winning 6-3 in the final set to clinch the match.
With the victory, the Flyers advance to the semifinals, where they will face top-seeded VCU Rams on Saturday at 10 am.
MATCH #6
#4 DAYTON def. #5 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 4-1
SINGLES
1. Jordan Benjamin (UD) def. Zicheng Zeng (GW) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. Langford Hills (UD) def. Ryan Navarro (GW) 6-3, 6-4
3. Ben Barnett (GW) vs. Spencer Richey (UD) 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 2-1, DNF
4. Steven Karl (UD) def. Jakub Behun (GW) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Lawrence Sciglitano (GW) vs. Joe DeMarco (UD) 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-2, DNF
6. Hanyu Liu (GW) def. Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 4
DOUBLES
1. Spencer Richey/Jordan Benjamin (UD) def. Ben Barnett/Zicheng Zeng (GW) 7-6(5)
2. Langford Hills/Joe DeMarco (UD) vs. Jakub Behun/Lawrence Sciglitano (GW) 6-6, (10-9), DNF
3. Steven Karl/Lorenzo Rollhauser (UD) def. Hanyu Liu/Ryan Navarro (GW) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1