No. 7-seed Monmouth (17-6) defeated No. 10-seed Hampton (10-9) in the opening round of the Colonial Athletic Association Men's Tennis Championships hosted by William & Mary in Williamsburg on April 27. Monmouth took the doubles point in the hard-fought battle between the two teams. Hampton's Erden Er downed Niels Van Noord, 7-6 (5), 6-0 at No. 1 and Ange-Kevin Koua defeated Monmouth's Alex Zuckerman, 7-5, 6-3 at No. 4 to lead the Pirates.
The loss snapped a four-match winning streak for the Pirates. Hampton had not lost since March 31 when the Pirates fell to Monmouth in a match played in Newport News.
The 10-9 final record for Hampton marked the first winning season for the team since 2009-10. Second-year coach Ana Popovic's team posted in 6-14 mark in her first season at the helm before recording a winning record this season. The young Pirates boast a roster of three freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and just one senior.
No. 7 Monmouth 4, No. 10 Hampton 2
Singles
#1 Erden Er (HU) d. Niels Van Noord (MU), 7-6 (5), 6-0
#2 Dmitry Bezborodov (MU) d. Donte Armbrister (HU), 6-2, 6-3
#3 Victor Castro (MU) d. Daniel Flynn (HU), 7-5, 7-6 (4)
#4 Ange-Kevin Koua (HU) d. Alex Zuckerman (MU), 7-5, 6-3
#5 Gabe Busato (MU) vs. Emiliano Jorquera (HU) – DNF, 4-6, 7-6 (3)
#6 Christof Zeiler (MU) d. Jeremiah Williams (HU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 2, 4, 3*
Doubles
#1 Van Noord/Bezborodov (MU) d. Er/Flynn (HU), 6-3
#2 Castro/Busato (MU) d. Koua/Williams (HU), 6-4
#3 Lucca Silva/Diego Laporta (MU) vs. Armbrister/Jorquera (HU) – DNF, 5-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1*