Monarch Men's Tennis Squad Falls To VCU, 4-2 :: Sophomore Izak van der Merwe defeats ITA's 41st ranked men's tennis player

Feb. 6, 2003

Richmond, VA -- Virginia Commonwealth's 15th-ranked men's tennis team defeated #69 Old Dominion, 4-2, Wednesday afternoon at the Thalhimer Tennis Center.

Junior Zoltan Csanadi (Timisoara, Romania) and sophomore Izak Van der Merwe (Kempton Park, South Africa) earned Old Dominion's points at first and second singles respectively. Csanadi used a three set, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 match to defeat Marton Ott, while Van der Merwe earned a 6-1, 7-6 victory over #41 Florian Marquardt.

Seniors Patrik Binkowski (Orby, Sweden) and Salman Mohammed (Calcutta, India) dropped matches at third and fourth singles respectively. Binkowski fell 6-0, 6-2 to #80 Pedro Nieto and Salman was defeated by Mats Norin, 6-3, 6-2. Junior Niklas Oskarsson (Halmsted, Sweden) fell to Daniel Casquero at fifth singles, 6-0, 6-1, and freshman Adrian Mello's (Loundrina, Brazil) sixth singles match was retired as he was trailing, 6-0, 1-0 in the second set.

The Rams collected the doubles points winning two of the three match-ups. Csanadi and van der Merwe picked up the lone ODU doubles win at the number one spot. The fourth ranked tandem defeated 48th ranked Marquardt and Nieto, 9-8. VCU's Ott and Norin played at the No. 2 spot and defeated the Monarch duo of junior Calin Milos (Timisoara, Romania) and Binkowski, 8-4. The Rams' Casquero and Francesc Lleal then sealed the doubles point with a 9-8 victory over Mohammed and Oskarsson at the No. 3 slot.

The Monarchs (5-2 overall, 1-0 CAA) return to action on Friday, February 7th in Newport News, VA against CAA rival James Madison.

Match Summary


Singles:
1. Zoltan Csanadi (ODU) def. Marton Ott (VCU), 1-6, 7-6, 7-6
2. Izak van der Merwe (ODU) def. #41 Florian Marquardt (VCU), 6-1, 7-6
3. #80 Pedro Nieto (VCU) def. Patrik Binkowski (ODU), 6-0, 6-2
4. Mats Norin (VCU) def. Salman Mohammed (ODU), 6-3, 6-2
5. Daniel Casquero (VCU) def. Niklas Oskarsson (ODU), 6-0, 6-1
6. Francesc Lleal (VCU) led Adriano Mello (ODU), 6-3, 1-0 ret.


Doubles:
1. #4 Csanadi/van der Merwe (ODU) def. #48 Marquardt/Nieto (VCU), 9-8
2. Ott/Norin (VCU) def. Milos/Binkowski (ODU), 8-4
3. Casquero/Lleal (VCU) def. Mohammed/Oskarsson (ODU), 9-8