NSU Sweeps Hampton, 7-0
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Norfolk State men's tennis team picked up its first win of the season in dominating fashion, sweeping rival Hampton, 7-0, Friday afternoon at the Centre Court Racquet Club.
The Spartans won in straight sets in all six singles matches and also earned victories in each of the three doubles matches to move to 1-5 on the season. Hampton opened up its 2012 campaign against the Spartans.
Hampton won no more than two games in four of the six singles matches, including a complete sweep by sophomore Kent Austin at No. 6 singles, 6-0, 6-0, over Andrew Williams. Senior Christian Romanzini and freshman Daniel Grauel each dropped just one game in their matches, with Grauel posting a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Lakshmana Sactchihanathan at the fourth spot.
Romanzini, meanwhile, won 6-1, 6-0 over Isaiah Stewart at the No. 5 spot to give the bottom half of the NSU lineup another strong victory. Senior Arsenio Culver also claimed his match in dominating form with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Advait Kirtane.
Freshman Igor Braga downed Kenneth Greene at the third singles position, 6-3, 6-2, while senior Ben Marks faced the biggest challenge at the top spot in the lineup. Marks defeated Alvin Fludd, 6-2, in the first set, before having to work overtime to down Fludd in the second set, 7-6, thanks to a 7-1 win in the tiebreaker.
Marks and Culver also had to battle at No. 1 doubles against Fludd and Kirtane, but the top NSU duo eventually earned the victory by an 8-6 margin. The other two doubles matches easily fell in favor of the Spartans, as Braga and Grauel downed Greene and Sactchihanathan at No. 2 doubles, 8-1.
Austin and Romanzini also won by an 8-1 margin at No. 3 doubles, downing the Hampton duo of Stewart and Williams, to give the Spartans the doubles point and the early 1-0 lead in the match leading into singles play.
Short Handed Lineup Dooms NSU in 5-2 Loss to Hampton
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Norfolk State women's tennis team picked up a pair of wins in singles play as well as a victory in doubles action, but lack of depth led to a 5-2 loss to Hampton Friday afternoon at the Centre Court Racquet Club.
With only five players in the NSU lineup, the Pirates (1-0) won the No. 3 doubles position by default to earn the doubles point. Hampton also won the No. 6 singles position by default to help send the Spartans to their second loss in as many matches this year.
Freshmen Kia Batiste and Laura Gutierrez each earned victories in singles play and paired up for the win at No. 2 doubles. The NSU duo downed Calisia Reid and Tabita Daolio by an 8-5 score at the second doubles slot.
Gutierrez, meanwhile, got the best of Reid a short time later at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-3. Batiste faced Danielle Butler at the fifth singles position and came away with a 6-2, 6-4 win.
Senior Naeemah Brooks got a comeback going in her match at the top spot in the lineup, falling 6-4 in the first set to Barenese Myers before rebounding with a 6-4 win in the second set. Myers, though, was too much for Brooks in the third set in a 6-1 win.
At the No. 4 slot, sophomore Maryna Kariuk dropped the first set to Daolio, 6-2, and then forced her to go a little extra in a 7-6 win for Daolio in the second set, including an 8-1 victory in the tiebreaker. Junior Rebecca Graff also succumbed to her Hampton opponent at the third singles slot, 6-3, 6-3, against Maria Ycaza.
Brooks and Graff dropped their No. 1 doubles match to Myers and Ycaza, 8-3.
For the complete story, visit
www.nsuspartans.com