College of Charleston
UNCW
Men's Tennis Upsets Top-Seeded UNCW In CAA Semifinals
4/19/2015 1:52:00 AM | Men's Tennis
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – It came down to the last match standing as the No. 4-seeded College of Charleston men's tennis team upset top-seeded and defending champion UNCW, 4-3, in the semifinals of the CAA Men's Tennis Championship held on Saturday at the Millie West Tennis Facility.
With the win, the Cougars (15-9) advance to the league's championship match for the second year in a row and will face No. 3-seeded and host William & Mary tomorrow at 2 p.m. (ET) in the finals.
It marked CofC's first win over a ranked opponent this season in four tries as the Seahawks (11-8) were ranked No. 63 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings.
Sophomore Vasily Kichigin (Saint Petersburg, Russia) clinched the match for the Cougars winning a three-setter at No. 4 singles over UNCW's Xander Veys, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Junior Zack Lewis (Richmond, Ky.) and junior Garrett Gordon (Marietta, Ga.) also won their respective singles matches in straight sets at the No. 5 and No. 6 lines respectively. Lewis won a second-set tiebreaker over Zach Hublitz, 6-4, 7-6 (4), while Gordon dispatched Andres Torres, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
CofC entered singles with momentum earning the doubles point early with wins at the No. 2 and 3 spots. Senior Charlie Ghriskey (Mount Kisco, N.Y.), a transfer from W&M, and Lewis defeated UNCW's Santtu Leskinen and Xander Veys, 8-5, on court two.
Junior Josh Record (Tallahassee, Fla.) and sophomore Rodrigo Encinas (Santiago, Chile) clinched the doubles point for the Cougars with a 7-4 tiebreak victory over Taylor Cramer and Hublitz on court three. The win was the eighth-straight victory for Encinas and Record, who lead the Cougars with a team-best 10-1 doubles record.
Fans can follow tournament action on Twitter @caasports or Instagram @caasports. Live scoring will be available at the CAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championship page at: www.TribeAthletics.com.
SINGLES
No. 1 – Santtu Leskinen (UNCW) def. Brice Allanic (CofC), 6-3, 6-2.
No. 2 – Sam Williams (UNCW) def. Rodrigo Encinas (CofC), 6-2, 6-1.
No. 3 – Chrstiaan Van der Burgh (UNCW) def. Charlie Ghriskey (CofC), 7-5, 6-1.
No. 4 – Vasily Kichigin (CofC) def. Xander Veys (UNCW), 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
No. 5 – Zack Lewis (CofC) def. Zach Hublitz (UNCW), 6-4, 7-6 (4).
No. 6 – Garrett Gordon (CofC) def. Andres Torres (UNCW), 6-4, 7-6 (6).
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Christiaan Van der Burgh-Sam Williams (UNCW) vs. Brice Allanic-Alon Faiman (CofC), 7-4, UNF.
No. 2 – Charlie Ghriskey-Zack Lewis (CofC) def. Santtu Leskinen-Xander Veys (UNCW), 8-5.
No. 3 Josh Record-Rodrigo Encinas (CofC) def. Taylor Cramer-Zach Hublitz (UNCW), 8-7 (4).
ORDER OF FINISH
Singles: 2, 1, 3, 5, 6, 4*
Doubles: 2, 3*
Players Mentioned
