LEXINGTON, Va. – The Old Dominion Athletic Conference announced the seedings for the upcoming ODAC Men's Tennis Championship and Washington and Lee has claimed the top seed.
W&L is looking to regain its spot atop the ODAC after falling in last season championship match, 4-3, against Averett. That loss snapped a streak of 14 consecutive ODAC titles for the Blue and White. The tournament will get underway on Tuesday with quarterfinal play at each of the top four seeds. Both semifinal matches and the championship match will also be contested at Washington and Lee University, regardless of the outcomes of the Generals' matches.
The Generals (9-10, 8-0 ODAC) will host eighth-seeded Roanoke (6-11, 3-5 ODAC) in Wednesday's quarterfinal at 3:00 p.m. Should W&L advance, the Generals would then face the winner of the quarterfinal between fourth-seeded Randolph (12-5, 6-2 ODAC) and fifth-seeded Virginia Wesleyan (12-9, 4-4 ODAC) on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The two winning teams on Saturday will then meet on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for the ODAC title.
On the other side of the bracket, Shenandoah earned the No. 2 seed and Averett came in third. The Hornets will host seventh-seeded Hampden-Sydney and the Cougars will host Lynchburg in quarterfinal play on Tuesday. The ensuing semifinal match will pit the two winning teams against each other on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
Junior
Sanjheev Rao leads all singles players with 11 wins this season, and he has posted a 9-7 record at No. 6 and a 5-2 mark in conference matches. Sophomore
Sahil Arora and first-year
Pearce Lane follow with 10 total wins each. Arora has played 11 matches at No. 5, going 6-5, plus another seven matches at No. 4 where he has a 3-4 record, while has mostly been featured at No. 4. Arora and Lane are a combined 11-2 in conference play.
Junior
Heys Parker has been the Generals' go-to at No. 1 singles this season with six wins and a 4-2 record in ODAC play, while first-year
Henry Imorde is 4-2 at No. 2 and 5-1 in conference singles matches.
In doubles, three duos have emerged as what will likely be the three starting tandems. Parker and Imorde are 6-5 together at No. 1, Rao and first-year
Justin Ilie have the most matches played at No. 2 and won three times, with Arora and Lane holding a 6-3 record at No. 3.
Live scoring and live video will be available for all men's tennis matches in Lexington this weekend. Live video can be found
here, while live scoring links will become available on the iOnSport app as matchups are determined throughout the tournament.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
