W&M Men's Tennis Defeats ODU, 4-1, in CAA Semifinal

Tribe to Face VCU Tomorrow in League Title Match

04/19/03

RICHMOND, VA - William and Mary’s 46th-ranked men’s tennis team defeated No. 72 Old Dominion, 4-1, this afternoon at Byrd Park in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. The win ups the Tribe’s record to 16-8.

The Tribe won the doubles point with victories at the top and bottom matches. The No. 3 contest finished first, as sophomores Jeff Kader (Geneva, OH) and Zack Malmgren (Cibalo, TX) defeated Calin Milos and Salman Mohammed, 8-4. ODU won at No. 2 doubles before the Tribe clinched the point with a win at No. 1, when sophomore Sean Kelleher (Forty Fort, PA) and rookie Stephen Ward (Douglaston, NY) defeated Zoltan Csanadi and Adriano Mello, 9-8 (2).

W&M quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead with singles wins on courts one and six. Kelleher defeated Csanadi, 6-4, 6-3, in the top match, just before Malmgren defeated Mello, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 6 to put the Tribe one win away from victory. The Monarchs took the fifth match for their only point, but junior Geoff Russell (Phoenix, AZ) clinched the W&M win with a three-set victory at No. 3 over Milos, 6-0, 6-7 (8), 6-3.

The win sends the Tribe into tomorrow’s conference championship match against No. 17 Virginia Commonwealth. It will be the fourth time in the last five seasons that W&M has advanced to the final match. The contest is scheduled to be played at Byrd Park at 1:00 PM, just after the Tribe’s women’s team takes on VCU in the CAA women’s tennis final.

Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Tennis Semifinal
#46 William and Mary 4, #72 Old Dominion 1
Singles
1. Sean Kelleher (W&M) d. Zoltan Csanadi; 6-4, 6-3
2. Jeff Kader (W&M) vs. Izak van der Merwe; suspended
3. Geoff Russell (W&M) d. Calin Milos; 6-0, 6-7 (8), 6-3
4. Alex Fish (W&M) vs. Salman Mohammed; suspended
5. Niklas Oskarsson (ODU) d. Stephen Ward; 7-5, 6-2
6. Zack Malmgren (W&M) d. Adriano Mello; 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 3

Doubles
1. Kelleher/Ward (W&M) d. Csanadi/Mello; 9-8 (2)
2. van der Merwe/Patrik Binkowski (ODU) d. Russell/Fish; 8-6
3. Kader/Malmgren (W&M) d. Milos/Mohammed; 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1