DES MOINES, Iowa – The Old Dominion men’s tennis team finished off a two-match road trip on Sunday with an impressive 7-0 win over Drake.
 
Drake (3-1) was one spot behind Old Dominion (4-0) in the final 2023 ITA Rankings and returned five starters from an NCAA Tournament squad. The 4-0 start is the best for ODU since 2016-17 when they started 6-0.
 
“I think this was a statement win today that should give us a lot of confidence moving forward,” said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller. “This group is a real unit and play for each other. You can feel that every day in practice and it’s translating into our match play.”
 
In doubles, the Monarchs took the point as Yanis Moundir and Maxime Mareschal-Hay won at No. 3 over Jeremy Schifris and Olle Sonneson Lidholt 6-3. Drake evened the doubles with a win at No. 1, but at No. 2 the duo of Cosme Rolland de Ravel and Jakob Cadonau took a 6-3 win over Matthew Clegg and Benjamin Johnson 6-3.
 
Singles saw Aryan Saleh open with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5, followed by Connor van Schalkwyk with a 7-6, 6-3 win at No. 2 to put ODU up 3-0. Cadonau clinched the win with a 7-6, 6-0 win at No. 6 to give the Monarchs a 4-0 lead.
 
The final three matches all went three sets as Rolland de Ravel put the lead to 5-0 with a 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3. ODU’s final points came off super tiebreaker wins as Codie van Schalkwyk won 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-4) win at the top spot and Moundir finished the sweep with a 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-7) win at No. 4.
 
ODU returns home next weekend to face Penn on Feb. 3 and Brown on Feb. 4.
 
Tennis Match Results
Old Dominion vs Drake
1/28/2024 at Des Moines, Iowa
Old Dominion 7, Drake 0
Singles competition
1. Codie van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) def. #104 Jeremy Schifris (DRAKE) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 1-0 (10-4)
2. Connor van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) def. Oliver Johansson (DRAKE) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
3. Cosme Rolland DeRavel (ODU-M) def. Matthew Clegg (DRAKE) 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Yanis Moundir (ODU-M) def. Marcus Bolin (DRAKE) 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-7)
5. Aryan Saleh (ODU-M) def. Benjamin Johnson (DRAKE) 6-3, 6-1
6. Jakob Cadonau (ODU-M) def. Aaron Dawson (DRAKE) 7-6 (8-6), 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Matija Matic/Oliver Johansson (DRAKE) def. #6 Codie van Schalkwyk/Connor van Schalkwyk (ODU-M) 6-3
2. #33 Jakob Cadonau/Cosme Rolland DeRavel (ODU-M) def. Matthew Clegg/Benjamin Johnson (DRAKE) 6-3
3. Maxime Mareschal-Hay/Yanis Moundir (ODU-M) def. Jeremy Schifris/Olle SonnesonLidholt (DRAKE) 6-3
Match Notes:
Old Dominion 4-0
Drake 3-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,2,6,3,1,4)