LEXINGTON, Va. – The Washington and Lee men's tennis team reclaimed the ODAC crown on Sunday, as the Generals defeated second-seeded Shenandoah, 4-1, in the conference championship match.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Hornets (14-6) got the first win of the day when Aryanth Chintharlapalli and Dominick Suwak picked up a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
- The Generals (12-10) rallied, however, with a 6-2 win at No. 2 shortly thereafter from junior Sanjheev Rao and first-year Justin Ilie. They then clinched the doubles point when junior Heys Parker and first-year Henry Imorde downed Lucas Beasley and Shine Tokas, 6-3, at No. 1.
- Rao (6-1, 6-3) cruised at No. 6 singles to make it a quick 2-0 W&L lead, but Artem Babaiev got it back to 2-1 with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4.
- Sophomore Sahil Arora and Imorde secured the final two team points for the Generals, and both fought back from one-set deficits. Arora ended as a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 winner at No. 5, before Imorde finalized a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory at No. 2.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Sunday's title marks the 43rd in the history of the Washington and Lee men's tennis program.
- Imorde and Parker are now tied for the team lead in wins among doubles tandems with a record of 8-6. All their matches played together are from the No. 1 position.
- Arora and Rao remain tied for the team lead in singles wins at 13 apiece. Arora is 9-5 at No. 5 and Rao is 11-7 at No. 6.
UP NEXT:
The Generals earned the ODAC's automatic bid into this season's NCAA Division III Team Championship bracket. They will find out who and where they play during the selection show on Monday at 12:30 p.m. at NCAA.com.
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.
