ORLANDO, Fla. - The second-seeded Richmond Spiders defeated No. 10 Fordham, 4-0, while the sixth-seeded Flyers downed No. 3 Saint Louis, 4-1, in the evening session of the Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Tennis quarterfinals on Thursday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The teams will face off in Friday's second semifinal, a rematch of their April 16th meeting in which Richmond won, 4-0.
The Spiders netted their first point of the match in doubles action, first capturing court No. 3 as Sebastian Miano and Alaister Bruke won 6-3, before the top flight of Daniel Kleibhan and William Karpsinki also scored a 6-3 victory. The rain washed the Spiders and Rams into the indoor courts for singles play. John Walsh was the first to strike, earning a straight-set victory at No. 3 singles to give UR a 2-0 match lead. Alex Wernink followed closely behind with a 7-5, 6-2 victory, before the match was clinched, 4-0, at the No. 2 court behind Karpsinki's 6-4, 6-2 victory.
In the final match of the evening, the Billikens and Flyers, who twice tried to begin doubles outdoors, were eventually forced to resume on the indoor courts. Ronit Hiryur and Matt DeMarco struck early in doubles action from the top position, earning a 6-2 victory, before the Billikens evened it up with a 6-4 reference at No. 2 doubles behind Ryota Fukushima and Theo Ortis. Eric Perkowski and Georgi Mavrodiev sealed the doubles point at No. 3 singles with their 6-4 victory. In singles action, the Flyers continued to build momentum with Matt DeMarco and Connor Bruce finishing nearly simultaneously at No. 2 and No. 1 singles, respectively. The Billikens answered back with a court of their own behind Luca Lo Nardo's 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5. With Ortis and Adam Behun both taking opening sets for the Billikens, the match was decided on court six with Georgi Mavrodiev's clinching point.
MATCH #6
#2 RICHMOND def. #10 FORDHAM, 4-0
SINGLES
1. Quinn Fender (FOR) vs. Daniel Kliebhan (UR) 6-4, 2-6, DNF
2. William Karpsinki (UR) def. Nicholas Kanazirev (FOR) 6-4, 6-2
3. John Walsh (UR) def. Dhillon Virdee-Oakley (FOR) 6-2, 6-3
4. Davis Wiley (UR) vs. Toi Kobayashi (FOR) 6-3, 3-4, DNF
5. John Mascone (FOR) vs. Sebastian Miano (UR) 7-6(3), 0-4, DNF
6. Alex Wernink (UR) def. Sampras Rakotondrainibe (FOR) 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 2
DOUBLES
1. Daniel Kliebhan/William Karpsinki (UR) def. Quinn Fender/Nicholas Kanazirev (FOR) 6-3
2. Alex Wernink/John Walsh (UR) vs. Gio Soemarno/Toi Kobayashi (FOR) 4-4, DNF
3. Sebastian Miano/Alaister Burke (UR) def. Dhillon Virdee-Oakley/Sampras Rakotondrainibe (FOR) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1
MATCH #5
#6 DAYTON def. #3 SAINT LOUIS, 4-1
SINGLES
1. Connor Bruce (UD) def. Ryota Fukushima (SLU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Matt DeMarco (UD) def. Andres Castellanos (SLU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Theo Ortis (SLU) vs. Ronit Hiryur (UD) 6-2, 3-6, 2-2, DNF
4. Adam Behun (SLU) vs. Eric Perkowski (UD) 6-4, 4-6, DNF
5. Luca Lo Nardo (SLU) def. Sai Dore (UD) 6-4, 6-4
6. Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) def. Sansh Kumar (SLU) 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 5, 6
DOUBLES
1. Ronit Hiryur/Matt DeMarco (UD) def. Luca Lo Nardo/Andres Castellanos (SLU) 6-2
2. Ryota Fukushima/Theo Ortis (SLU) def. Connor Bruce/Sai Dore (UD) 6-4
3. Eric Perkowski/Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) def. Adam Behun/Eliott Ekindi (SLU) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3