ORLANDO, Fla. The top-seeded VCU Rams won their fourth straight and fifth Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship with a 4-0 victory against crosstown rival, No. 3 Richmond on Sunday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

In doubles action, VCU's Charles Bertimon and Quentin Coulaud were the first to finish, pulling away from Matthew Fernandez and Alex Wernink to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. At court two, the Spiders pair of John Walsh and Campbell Erwin got off to a good start, leading 4-2, but Inigo Torre Martin and Rayane Stable batted back to a 5-4 score that went unfinished at second doubles. 

VCU's Lleyton Cronje and David Cierny clinched the doubles point, leading the match throughout, and finishing with a score of 6-3.

In singles action, the Rams gained momentum from doubles and took the first set on each of the six courts from the Spiders. 

Torre Martin was the first to complete his match, taking down Wernink, 6-1, 6-1 at court No. 3, giving the Rams a 2-0 advantage.

Cronje, ranked 80th in the country, faced a tough competitor in Fernandez at top singles, but eventually took the court, 6-1, 6-3, to put the Rams within reach of the match.

On court four, Stable got out to a fast 5-0 start in the second set against Walsh. With the match on the line, Walsh fought back to win a pair of games to make it 5-2, before Stable pulled out the second set victory, 6-2 and clinched the 4-0 win for the Rams.

Three singles matches went unfinished with Richmond leading at No. 2 singles. Daniel Kliebhan held a 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 lead against Bertimon at court two,  while Erwin was knotted up in the second set against Coulaud, 4-6, 5-5 at No. 5 singles. In the final match, Josh Keitelman was also tied in the second set 4-4 against Timo Zgraggen at No. 6 singles.

The Rams earn the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and will learn their fate on Monday at NCAA.com. Since joining the A-10, VCU has won five Championship titles (2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021). 

MATCH #10 - #1 VCU def. #3 RICHMOND, 4-0
SINGLES
1. Lleyton Cronje (VCU) def. Matthew Fernandez (UR) 6-1, 6-3
2. Charles Bertimon (VCU) vs. Daniel Kliebhan (UR) 6-4, 4-6, 0-1, DNF
3. Inigo Torre Martin (VCU) def. Alex Wernink (UR) 6-1, 6-1
4. Rayane Stable (VCU) def. John Walsh (UR) 6-4, 6-2
5. Quentin Coulaud (VCU) vs. Campbell Erwin (UR) 6-4, 5-5, DNF
6. Timo Zgraggen (VCU) vs. Josh Keitelman (UR) 6-4, 4-4, DNF
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4

DOUBLES
1. Lleyton Cronje/David Cierny (VCU) def. Josh Keitelman/Daniel Kliebhan (UR) 6-3
2. Inigo Torre Martin/Rayane Stable (VCU) vs. John Walsh/Campbell Erwin (UR) 5-4, DNF
3. Charles Bertimon/Quentin Coulaud (VCU) def. Matthew Fernandez/Alex Wernink (UR) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1