Hofstra Opens CAA Championship Play Thursday

4/26/2023 4:33:00 PM

By: Len Skoros

Williamsburg, VA - The 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Men's Tennis Championship gets underway on Thursday with 10 teams competing for the conference title at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts on the campus of William & Mary. The 10-team field is the largest since 2012 as Hampton, Monmouth and North Carolina A&T make their CAA debuts.

The tournament begins with a pair of first-round matches on Thursday. At 11 a.m., #8 Charleston meets #9 Hofstra, followed by #7 Monmouth against #10 Hampton at 2 p.m.

The quarterfinals start at 9 a.m. on Friday as top seed and defending champion UNCW faces the Charleston/Hofstra winner, followed by #4 Drexel against #5 North Carolina A&T at Noon. Second-seeded William & Mary takes on the Monmouth/Hampton winner at 3 p.m. and #3 Elon challenges #6 Delaware at 6 p.m.

The two semifinal matches are scheduled for Noon and 3 p.m. on Saturday and the championship match is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, with the winner earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.

Live scoring will be available for all matches of the tournament.

Hofstra went 6-11 during the regular season. The Pride did not face Charleston (10-10) during the season. Matthew Garcia leads Hofstra with 11 singles wins and will compete at the No. 4 singles flight. Ostap Kovalenko, who will play at No. 1 singles, has nine wins on the season, as does Josh Reynolds, who will play at the No. 3 flight. Bo Cautaerts will play at No. 2 singles after winning six matches this season. Vincent Turina posted four wins and will play at No. 5, while Hideki Matsuoka will fill the No. 6 spot in the lineup after earning five wins in 2022-23. Jonathan Mahrt Guyou and Kovalenko will team up at No. 1 doubles. The duo won four matches together during the regular season. Cautaerts and Garcia also won four matches as a team and will play at No. 2 doubles. Kaita Odani and Reynolds will be the No. 3 doubles team after winning four matches together as well.

The Pride's first round opponent, Charleston, has reached the CAA Tournament finals three times and won its only title in 2016. The Cougars, who went 6-3 in their final nine matches, have sophomore Mattia Bernardi at the top of the lineup and junior Zac Larke at the No. 2 spot.

Top seeded UNCW is looking to capture its third straight CAA men's tennis title and ninth in 14 years.

In the event of inclement weather, matches will be moved to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on the William & Mary campus.

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