W&M Men’s Tennis Falls to ODU, 4-1, in CAA Semifinal

04/22/06 2:14PM

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - William and Mary’s men’s tennis season came to an end today, as the 73rd-ranked Tribe fell to No. 53 Old Dominion, 4-1, in the semifinal round of the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, held at the Huntington Park Tennis Center.

The loss drops the Tribe’s record to 12-16, while the Monarchs improve to 25-7.

ODU took a 1-0 lead in the match, winning at the bottom two doubles positions to take the team point. W&M won the first completed match, as sophomore Alex Cojanu (Hallandale, FL) and freshman Billy Mulligan (Miami, FL) upset 50th-ranked Aleksandr Seleznev and Harel Srugo, 8-5, at No. 1. The Monarchs came back with a 9-7 win at No. 2 by Henrique Cancado and Eidy Igarashi over senior Stephen Ward (Douglaston, NY) and junior Colin O’Brien (Dublin, Ireland). ODU clinched the point with another 9-7 win at No. 3, where Nate Grover and Rodrigo Souza defeated sophomore Kavi Sud (Allentown, PA) and freshman Alexander Zuck (Toms River, NJ).

W&M tied the score at one, when Sud defeated Grover, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 singles for the Tribe’s first point. However, that would be the only point scored by the Green and Gold, as the Monarchs went on to win the next three completed singles matches. Seleznev put ODU ahead, 2-1, with his 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 over sophomore Matt Rubenstein (East Hampton, NY) and Souza’s 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 over Zuck put the Monarchs one point away from the win. ODU clinched the victory with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 1 by Srugo, ranked 30th in the nation, over O’Brien.

ODU will return to action in tomorrow’s conference final, where they will face Virginia Commonwealth at 10:00 AM.


#53 Old Dominion 4, #73 William and Mary 1
Singles
1. #30 Harel Srugo (ODU) d. Colin O’Brien; 7-5, 6-4
2. Stephen Ward (W&M) vs. Henrique Cancado; abandoned
3. Alex Cojanu (W&M) vs. #107 Eidy Igarashi; abandoned
4. Aleksandr Seleznev (ODU) d. Matt Rubenstein; 6-3, 6-2
5. Rodrigo Souza (ODU) d. Alexander Zuck; 6-2, 6-3
6. Kavi Sud (W&M) d. Nate Grover; 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 1

Doubles
1. Cojanu/Billy Mulligan (W&M) d. #50 Seleznev/Srugo; 8-5
2. Cancado/Igarashi (ODU) d. O’Brien/Ward; 9-7
3. Grover/Souza (ODU) d. Sud/Zuck; 9-7
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3