April 5, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The men's tennis team downed Winston-Salem State 7-0 on Saturday and edged North Carolina Central 4-3 on Sunday.

Richmond cruised past Winston-Salem State with every Spider recording a victory in the singles and doubles categories. No. 1 senior Sami Belakhlef dominated Brian Coxton, 6-2 6-2. Belakhlef and freshman Sam Hyland rolled past Coxton/Ian Hunter 8-2.

"This was our second contest of the day and after a tough loss to Charlotte, we were hungry to play again," said head coach Billy Boykin. "We've been working hard physically, so our fitness level wasn't really a concern. We hit the ball sharply and executed well in both singles and doubles. Sami Belakhlef led the way for us out there. It was nice to finish the day on a high note."

On Sunday, the Spiders squeaked by North Carolina Central, 4-3. Richmond swept the doubles category and split the singles category with the Eagles.

"We've certainly come out on the wrong side of some tight matches this year, but today we showed that we're learning from those matches," said Boykin. "North Carolina Central University is a tough team and they really made us earn everything today. We played the big points well and that was basically the difference. Freshman Matt Feeley was outstanding for us today."

Richmond hosts Navy Saturday at noon.

UR 7, WSSUM 0

Singles:

1. Belakhlef, Sami (RICHMOND) def. Coxton, Brian (WSSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Minter, William (RICHMOND) def. Glodde, Maximilian (WSSU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Arana, Rafael (RICHMOND) def. Hunter, Ian (WSSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Feeley, Matthew (RICHMOND) def. McKinney, Wesley (WSSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Nelson, A.J. (RICHMOND) def. Odera, Joab (WSSU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Hyland, Sam (RICHMOND) def. Moore, Troy (WSSU) 6-3, 6-1

1. Belakhlef, Sami/Hyland, Sam (RICHMOND) def. Coxton, Brian/Hunter, Ian (WSSU) 8-2
2. Arana, Rafael/Schrode, Dylan (RICHMOND) def. Glodde, Maximilian/McKinney, Wesley (WSSU) 8-5
3. Minter, William/Feeley, Matthew (RICHMOND) def. Moore, Troy/Odera, Joab (WSSU) 8-1

UR 4, NCC 3

Singles:

1. Belckhlet, Sami (UR) def. FABARA,Jose (NCCU-M) 6-1, 7-5
2. WAISSEN,JAck (NCCU-M) def. Minter, Will (UR) 6-3, 6-3
3. PEREZ,Andres (NCCU-M) def. Arana, Rafa (UR) 6-2, 6-1
4. Feeley, Matt (UR) def. CHATMAN, Trey (NCCU-M) 6-3, 6-2
5. ESPITIA,Alejandro (NCCU-M) def. Nelson, A.J. (UR) 6-3, 2-6, 10-8
6. Hyland, Sam (UR) def. ALLSOP, Stephen (NCCU-M) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles:

1. Belckhlet, Sami/Hyland, Sam (UR) vs. WAISSEN,JAck/ESPITIA,Alejandro (NCCU-M) 8-4
2. Arana, Rafa/Schrode, Dylan (UR) def. CHATMAN, Trey/FABARA,Jose (NCCU-M) 8-4
3. Minter, Will/Feeley, Matt (UR) def. PEREZ,Andres/ALLSOP, Stephen (NCCU-M) 8-1