NSU Men Advance to MEAC Tennis Championship with 4-0 Semifinal Win over B-CU

CAYCE, South Carolina  – Norfolk State, the MEAC south No. 2 seed, has advanced to the finals of the 2014 MEAC Men's Tennis Championship after posting a 4-0 win in the semifinals over the southern division's No. 4 seed, Bethune-Cookman, on Friday morning at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center. The win marks the first time that NSU's men's tennis program has advanced to the MEAC finals.

The Spartans (14-6) will play the MEAC south No. 1 seed and reigning MEAC champion, South Carolina State, in the finals on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs have won the last seven MEAC championships. S.C. State defeated the southern division's No. 3 seed, Florida A&M, 4-1, on Friday morning to advance to the title match.

NSU took the doubles point in the first and second positions. Sophomore Dzmitry Zyhmantovich and senior Peter Ramstromer-Pello upended Gilbert Rotich and Greg Almeida, 8-3. Also picking up a win were sophomore Robin Riethmueller and junior Igor Braga. They defeated Walid Gtari and Alvaro Barrero, 8-3. The No. 3 match featuring juniors Pascal Domnik and Daniel Grauel against Santiago Lobelo and Diego Garavito was abandoned after the Spartans clinched the point.

The Spartans picked up wins in singles play at the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 spots. Zyhmantovich improved to 14-4 on the season with his 6-3, 6-2 victory against Gtari. Riethmueller (11-5) claimed a 6-1, 6-3 win over Rotich. Braga closed things out for NSU with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Garavito. The other singles matches were abandoned because the Spartans won the match.

The men's championship title match begins at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Complete Match Results

By Chaundrea Lee, Media Relations Assistant
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS