Drexel Tennis Teams Prevail in Opening Round Play at CAA Tournament

Thursday, April 21

Norfolk, Va.

9:00 a.m.

Drexel University

George Mason

Stosic (left) and Davis came up with the match-clinching victories at the CAA Tournament

Drexel Tennis Teams Prevail in Opening Round Play at CAA Tournament

4/21/2011 12:27:53 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis

Norfolk, Va. - Drexel's men's and women's tennis teams came out on top on day one at the CAA Tennis Championships. The Drexel men (7-5) defeated George Mason 4-0 in a rematch of their Senior Day loss a week ago. The Drexel women (9-7) avenged a regular-season loss to Towson by downing the Tigers 4-1. Both teams will play the top seeds in their respective brackets tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. The women will face William & Mary while the men will take on Virginia Commonwealth.

Sonja Stosic won the clinching match over Nani Lizana at second singles for the Dragons. After taking a 5-1 lead in the opening set, Stosic had to battle for a tiebreaker victory to close out the set. She fell behind 4-2 in the second set but came charging back for a 6-4 win that proved to be the pivotal match for her team. Emma Brook and Gozde Unkaya quickly dispatched their opponents at first and fourth singles, respectively. Drexel's only loss cam at fifth singles where Nisha Shah edged Elise Leizerovich 6-4, 6-2.

In doubles play Mafa and Stosic won in convincing fashion 8-4 over Nani Lizana and Andrea Samlin, while teammates Brook and Leizerovich took down Burke and Aprodu 8-4.

On the men's side, rookie Skyler Davis came up with the clinching victory, 6-3, 6-1 over Patrick Mulguin at sixth singles. Davis and teammate Jeganathan Srinivasan turned in some of the biggest performances of the day on adjacent courts. Srinivasan gritted out a tiebreak victory in the first set against Jordan Borsanyi and took control for a 6-3 win in the second set at fifth singles. Bryan Nguyen dispatched Chris Borden in straight 6-1 sets at second singles for the first win of singles play for the Dragons.

On the doubles side, Nguyen and Davis came up with the point-clinching victory with an 8-5 win over McMillen and Borden at second doubles. Davis set up the win with a series of well-placed and well-paced serves to put the Dragons up 6-4. Nguyen served to close out the match and clinch the team point.

Both teams have advanced from the first round of CAA Tournament play for the third straight year, and it is the second year in a row that the Dragons will face the top seeds in the second round of play. The CAA Tournament is being played on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

Women's Results
Drexel 4, Towson 1

Doubles
Mafa/Stosic (DU) def. Lizana/Samlin 8-4
Leizerovich/Brook (DU) def. Burke/Aprodu 8-4
Unkaya/Bell (DU) v. Beth Daub/Shah 6-7 DNF

Singles
1. Gozde Unkaya (DU) def. Aandria Carr 6-0, 6-2
2. Sonja Stosic (DU) def. Nani Lizana 7-6(3), 6-4
3. Zeynep Mafa (DU) v. Caitlin White 4-6, 5-1 (DNF)
4. Emma Brook (DU) def. Andrea Samlin 6-0, 6-2
5. Nisha Shah (TU) def. Elise Leizerovich (DU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Alex Bell (DU) v. Ariel Burke (TU) 3-6, 6-2, 5-1 (DNF)

Men's Results
Drexel 4, George Mason 0

Doubles
Kurdadze/Bajpai (DU) def. Osuna/Borsanyi 8-2
Nguyen/Davis (DU) def. McMillen/Borden 8-5
Sargent/Hyre (GMU) def. Rhazali/Tekie 8-5

Singles
1. Nikoloz Kurdadze (DU) v. Jorge Osuna (GMU) 6-1, 3-6 (DNF)
2. Manu Bajpai (DU) v. Kevin McMillen (GMU) 7-5, 5-0 (DNF)
3. Bryan Nguyen (DU) def. Chris Borden 6-1, 6-1
4. Mehdi Rhazali (DU) v. Taylor Sargent (GMU) 3-6, 6-4, 1-3 (DNF)
5. Jeganathan Srinivasan (DU) def. Jordan Borsanyi 7-6(2), 6-3
6. Skyler Davis (DU) def. Patrick Mulguin 6-3, 6-1

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