COLLEGE WOMEN’S TENNIS
Old Dominion (1-1) made an early impact on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend, shutting out Iowa State — a team that reached the NCAA Elite Eight last year — 4-0 on the Cyclones’ indoor courts in Ames.
The Cyclones lacked a No. 6 player, so ODU got one free point. Sofia Johnson and Lidiia Rasskouskaia edged the ITA’s 56th-ranked tandem, Anna Kuearum and Isabella Dunlap, 7-6 (7-4) to give the Monarchs the doubles point.
Johnson beat Kuearum 6-2, 6-2 on line 1 and Rasskouskaia won 6-4, 6-4 on line 5, enabling the Monarchs to clinch the victory. Three competitive singles matches were halted when they did so.
Coach Dom Manilla’s Monarchs will face Oklahoma State (3-0), the nation’s No. 3 team, at 3 p.m. Sunday in Ames with a berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship’s 16-team field in Seattle at stake. Oklahoma State edged No. 12 UCLA 4-3 Saturday.
No. 11 UVA earns spot in Seattle
No. 11 Virginia (6-0) picked up its spot in the 16-team field with a 4-0 victory against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Georgia Tech (1-2) at Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and picked up straight-sets wins from Elaine Chervinsky, Hibah Shaikh and Sara Ziodato.
COLLEGE MEN’S TENNIS
No. 3 Virginia advances in Kickoff
No. 3 Virginia (4-1) picked up a 4-1 victory against Northern Arizona (3-2) in the opener of ITA Kickoff Weekend matches being contested at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and three singles matches to advance to Sunday’s 1 p.m. final against Florida Atlantic (5-0). Grad student Edoardo Graziani won the clinching point for the Cavaliers.
Seniors Iñaki Montes and Alex Kiefer opened the match with a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles. Senior Jeffrey von der Schulenburg and sophomore Douglas Yaffa clinched the point with a 7-5 win at 3.
Dylan Dietrich, James Hopper and Graziani won on lines 1, 5 and 3, respectively, for the Cavaliers.
In singles, freshman Dylan Dietrich powered through a 6-2, 6-2 win on court one to put UVA up 2-0. Grad student James Hopper won 6-3, 6-0 on five to put the Cavaliers ahead 3-0. After NAU took court six, Graziani closed the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win at three.
The FAU-UVA winner will earn a spot in the 16-team field at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship from Feb. 16-19 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
COLLEGE SWIMMING
W&M sweeps Hoyas
Both William & Mary teams gained home victories Saturday over Georgetown. The Tribe women prevailed 164.5-97.5, and the W&M men won 145-114.
ODU teams defeat American
Old Dominion’s men and women celebrated Senior Day with wins over American at the Scrap Chandler Pool. The men’s team won 210-52 and the women’s squad defeated the Eagles 140-122.
COLLEGE MEN’S GYMNASTICS
W&M posts season’s best score but falls at No. 8 Navy
William & Mary posted its best score of the season but was defeated by No. 8 Navy, 396.5-370.9, in Annapolis, Maryland.
Sam Lee highlighted the Tribe’s individual efforts as he placed second on the vault (14.2) and parallel bars (13.6).
Alek Kuzmenchuk was fourth on rings with a 12.75.
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
Kimaiyo sets Norfolk State record
Mercyline Kimaiyo broke her own school record, headlining a strong showing for Norfolk State at the Penn State National Open.
Kimaiyo completed the 5,000 meters in 17:42.59, more than five seconds faster than the 17:47.82 she ran at the 2023 MEAC Indoor Championships — Norfolk State’s previous indoor record. The time earned her a seventh-place finish.
In men’s competition at the Penn State meet, NSU’s Kai Cole finished second in the 60-meter dash at 6.69 seconds. That came two weeks after he tied the school record of 6.65.
NSU freshman Vincent Bond registered a runner-up finish in the 400 meters at 48.04 seconds.
The Spartans 4×400 relay (Tafari Bishop, Bond, Premier Wynn and Jahquan Christopher) also placed second to Princeton by less than two seconds in 3:11.54.
COLLEGE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Marlins go winless in tournament
The first-year program of Virginia Wesleyan (1-6) finished 0-4 in its VWU Invitational at TowneBank Arena with a pair of losses Saturday.
First, the Marlins lost 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-19) to Eastern Mennonite (5-2), the only fellow Division III opponent VWU played during the event. Landon Brinkley led the Marlins with 10 kills and nine digs, Matthew Sheppard had nine kills and six digs, and Beckham Rombaoa had 19 assists and six digs. Nate McGhee led the Royals with 12 kills, and his former Heritage High teammate Tyler Oaks had 35 assists and seven digs.
Barton (4-1), one of three D-II teams from North Carolina that beat the Marlins, then defeated VWU 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-15). Sheppard had 10 kills, and JaMarhe Wills had nine kills and eight digs.