With the No. 1 seed in hand, the UNCW men's tennis team has the inside track on returning the Colonial Athletic Association crown to the Port City as the conference championship is contested this weekend in Elon, N.C.
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The Seahawks, who feature a young team of eight freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors, have captured the CAA title four times, most recently in 2014.
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Eight teams will vie for the men's hardware at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and the Burlington Tennis Center on Friday through Sunday. Quarterfinal action starts at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, April 21, followed by the semifinals on Saturday, April 22, and the championship match on Sunday, April 23. Â
Three different teams – UNCW (2014), William & Mary (2015), Charleston (2016) - have captured the men's crown over the past three years and this year's tournament is expected to be competitive once again.
UNCW closed out the regular season with an 11-8 record and is the top seed of the event for the fifth consecutive year. The Seahawks have won four of the last eight CAA championships, but fell in the finals one year ago.
The Seahawks begin tournament play early Friday with a 9 a.m. quarterfinal match vs. #8 Delaware. The winner takes on #4 Charleston or #5 James Madison in the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"We're excited about getting started this weekend," said 10th-year UNCW Men's Head Coach Mait Dubois. "Elon always does a great job hosting the event and it's a real pleasure playing there. The field is especially tight this year with several high quality teams.
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"Delaware has really improved under new head coach Pablo Montana and we're looking forward to the match."
DuBois and his team did not play a CAA opponent during the dual match season, but did face five nationally-ranked teams and beat Power Five Conference opponent Michigan State as well as UAB and Charlotte.
Freshman Ignasi de Rueda paced the team in victories with a 12-4 record in his first season with the team. While the Seahawks have posted a 54-44 (.551) record in singles, the team has used 15 different doubles teams during the campaign in search of the right combination for the critical early point.
Elon, 11-11, received the #2 seed and enters the tournament with a three-match winning streak. The Phoenix dropped a narrow 4-3 decision in the semifinals a year ago to eventual champion Charleston. Sophomore Felipe Sarrasague, the 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year, owns a 14-6 record at No. 1 singles.
Third-seeded William & Mary, 9-11, claimed the 2015 crown and has reached the finals four times in the last decade. The Tribe features an experienced lineup led by senior Aidan Talcott (10-7) and junior Christian Cargill (12-7).
Defending champion Charleston, 13-7, edged UNCW, 4-3, in last year's title match and has reached the finals three straight years. Junior Juan Estevarena, the Most Outstanding Performer of the 2016 championship, has compiled a 14-4 mark at No. 1 singles, while Benedikt Henning is 14-3 at No. 2.
Live scoring for every match will be available at CAASports.com.
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2017 CAA MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 20-23, 2017 – Jimmy Powell Tennis Center/Burlington Tennis Center
Elon University – Elon, N.C.
Friday, April 21 | Quarterfinals (Burlington Tennis Center)Â
8:30 a.m.
#1 UNCW vs. #8 Delaware
#4 College of Charleston vs. #5 James MadisonÂ
1 p.m.
#2 Elon vs. #7 Hofstra
#3 William & Mary vs. #6 Drexel
Saturday, April 22 | Semifinals (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center)
2 p.m.
UNCW/Delaware winner vs. CofC/JMU winner
Elon/Hofstra winner vs. W&M/Drexel winner
Sunday, April 23 | Finals (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center)
2 p.m.
Championship
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