2007 WVIAC Tournament Preview

University of Charleston looking to make some noise at 2007 WVIAC men's Tennis Tournament

CHARLESTON - Shepherd and West Liberty State are heavy favorites as play begins in the 2007 WVIAC Men's Tennis Championship on Thursday in Charleston.  SU owns a 53-match WVIAC regular season win streak and finished unbeaten in six league matches this spring.  West Liberty's lone WVIAC setback was to Shepherd en route to a 7-1 ledger.

Junior Casey Moser, who was unbeaten in #1 singles and #1 doubles during league regular season play, leads Shepherd.  Felipe Oliviera and Scott Hasenei also provided unblemished singles and doubles against WVIAC foes for head coach Chris Stambaugh's Rams.

West Liberty is paced by sophomore Sam DeSimone at #1 singles and senior Justin Thomas at #2 singles.  The Toppers won 63 of 72 individual singles and doubles matches during league regular season play.  Scott Bolyard and John Macauley are among the other keys for WLSC.

#3 West Virginia Wesleyan, #4 Concord,and #5 Charleston hope to play the spoiler's role.  Brazilian rookies Rafael Cavalcante and Daniel Lobo spark Wesleyan's Bobcats.  Concord's Matthew Stonestreet, a Bluefield native, was 5-2 at #1 singles with both defeats coming in third set tiebreakers. 

Defending champion Salem International is the tournament's #8 seed and will square off with winless Bluefield State in Thursday's play-in round at West Virginia State.  Quarterfinal action gets underway on Friday with play at the Watt Powell Annex and Coonskin Park courts.

The tournament's champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional next month.

WVIAC Men's Tennis Championship
April 19-21
Charleston, W.Va.

Thursday, April 19
Match #1: #8 Salem International (1-7) vs. #9 Bluefield State (0-7) 4:00 (West Virginia State University)

Friday, April 20
Match #2: #1 Shepherd (6-0) vs. Match #1 winner 9:00 a.m. (Coonskin Park)
Match #3: #4 Concord (5-2) vs. #5 Charleston (4-4) 9:00 a.m. (Watt Powell Annex)
Match #4: #3 West Virginia Wesleyan (6-2) vs. #6 West Virginia State (3-5) 11:30 a.m. (Coonskin Park)
Match #5: #2 West Liberty State (7-1) vs. #7 Fairmont State (2-6) 11:30 a.m. (Watt Powell Annex)
Match #6: Winner of Match #2 vs. Winner of Match #3 2:00 p.m. (Watt Powell Annex)
Match #7: Winner of Match #4 vs. Winner of Match #5 4:30 p.m. (Watt Powell Annex)

Saturday, April 21
Match #8: Winner of Match #6 vs. Winner of Match #7 9:00 a.m. (Watt Powell Annex)