ORLANDO, Fla. - The top-seeded VCU Rams once again punched their ticket to the finals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Conference Championship, dispatching No. 4 Davidson, 4-0 in the semifinals, held Friday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. In the second semifinal, the sixth-seeded Dayton Flyer team outlasted the No. 2 Richmond Spiders, 4-3, in a thrilling back and forth affair. The teams will meet for the first time this season in Saturday's Championship match at 5:30 pm on ESPN+.
VCU got out to a hot start, finishing doubles play in just under 30 minutes. At No. 2 doubles, the pair of Matisse Bobichon Rayane Stable netted a 6-1 victory, before Charles and Maxence Bertimon recorded a 6-3 victory in the top spot to earn the match's opening point. In the third flight, Romain Gales and Joaquim de Almeida led 5-3 when the match was abandoned. In singles action, Stable dropped just two games from the third spot, netting a quick 6-1, 6-1 victory to put the Rams up 2-0. de Almedia also netted a straight-set victory at No. 6 singles, before Matisse Bobichon took down Alejandro Solares, 6-1, 6-1 at the top flight to seal the 4-0 victory. The Rams have played for every conference championship since 2007 and will seek to win its sixth straight A-10 Men's Championship.
In a match lasting nearly three and a half hours, the Flyers got the ever important doubles point to open the match. Playing from the top flight, Ronit Hiryur and Matt DeMarco struck first for UD, netting a 6-1 victory before Connor Bruce and Sai Dore clinched the point at No. 2 doubles, 6-3. Eric Perkowski and Georgi Mavrodiev led at No. 3 doubles when the match was abandoned. In singles action, the Spiders went ahead, 2-1, capturing the four and three courts, respectively, behind Davis Wiley and John Walsh, each in straight sets. Dayton's top two flights would finish next, with Bruce earning a 6-2, 7-5 victory, followed by DeMarco's three-setter, flipping the score back in the Flyers' favor, 3-2. After dropping his first set, UR's Wernink rattled off two straight frames to knot the match at 3-3 at No. 6 singles. On court five, UR's Sebastian Miano won the first set, before Sai Dore netted a second set victory in the tiebreak. The pair battled through a dramatic third set, with Dore prevailing 6-4 in the final set to clinch the match 4-3 for Dayton.
VCU and Dayton met in last year's Championship final in Orlando with the Rams taking home their fifth A-10 title, 4-0.
MATCH #7
#1 VCU def. #4 DAVIDSON, 4-0
SINGLES
1. Matisse Bobichon (VCU) def. Alejandro Solares (DAV) 6-1, 6-1
2. Charles Bertimon (VCU) vs. Will Clark (DAV) 7-5, 2-0, DNF
3. Rayane Stable (VCU) def. Max Kachkarov (DAV) 6-1, 6-1
4. Maxence Bertimon (VCU) vs. Juan Camilo Perez Gongora (DAV) 6-0, 2-3, DNF
5. Romain Gales (VCU) vs. Nico Pinzon (DAV) 6-2, 5-0, DNF
6. Joaquim de Almeida (VCU) def. Jerry Wang (DAV) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 1
DOUBLES
1. Charles Bertimon/Maxence Bertimon (VCU) def. Max Kachkarov/Juan Perez Gongora (DAV) 6-3
2. Matisse Bobichon/Rayane Stable (VCU) def. Alejandro Solares/Nico Pinzon (DAV) 6-1
3. Romain Gales/Joaquim de Almeida (VCU) vs. Jerry Wang/Luca Lovrich (DAV) 5-3, DNF
Order of Finish: 2, 1
MATCH #8
#6 DAYTON def. #2 RICHMOND, 4-3
SINGLES
1. Connor Bruce (UD) def. Daniel Kliebhan (UR) 6-2, 7-5
2. Matt DeMarco (UD) def. William Karpsinki (UR) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. John Walsh (UR) def. Ronit Hiryur (UD) 6-2, 6-2
4. Davis Wiley (UR) def. Eric Perkowski (UD) 6-3, 6-0
5. Sai Dore (UD) def. Sebastian Miano (UR) 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4
6. Alex Wernink (UR) def. Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1, 2, 6, 5
DOUBLES
1. Ronit Hiryur/Matt DeMarco (UD) def. Daniel Kliebhan/William Karpsinki (UR) 6-1
2. Connor Bruce/Sai Dore (UD) def. Alex Wernink/John Walsh (UR) 6-3
3. Eric Perkowski/Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) vs. Sebastian Miano/Alaister Burke (UR) 5-4, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2