Men's tennis disappoints at ODAC tournament

After having success early in the season, Virginia Wesleyan ‘s men's tennis team, ended its season with a bit of a downfall. The Marlins, who saw most of their season postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather, were on a roll going into ODAC conference play. However, that is where the team ran into some trouble. The Marlins who were 8-0 overall (1-0 in ODAC), hit a speed bump during conference play, losing three of its last four, ending the season at 9-4. The highest seed for the Marlins went to sophomore Chris Lyon at the No. 2 singles with a No. 4 seed, and a No. 3 seed going to Lyon and sophomore Jeff Zenisek at the No. 1 singles position.

The ODAC tournament didn't get any better for the Marlins when the matches began on Saturday Apr. 16. With the exception of first-year Tim Sanford at the No. 5 singles spot, every Marlin lost their first round match, leaving the VWC no chance to win the team title.

"Saturday was not a good day for us," said Zenisek. "People that were favored to lose, lost, but also people that were favored to win, lost."

At the end of the ODAC tournament, not a single Marlin placed above fifth in the singles brackets.

The doubles on day two of the two-day competition were a little better for the Marlins. Zenisek and Lyon saved face for the team by posting a second place finish at the No. 1 doubles position. Earning themselves a spot on the second team All-ODAC team. Zenisek/Lyon got to the championship match by edging out Gindre/Lanza of Guilford College 9-8, winning in a tie-breaking game 7-2. However, Zenisek/Lyon had used so much energy to get to the finals, there was nothing left in the tank as they lost to Shay/Feibelman of Washington and Lee University 8-0.

"It was nice to get something out of the weekend, though, after the disappointment on Saturday," said Zenisek.

The Marlins now look forward to next year as the quest continues to dethrone Washington and Lee as ODAC champions. The team won't lose too much, because there were only two seniors on the team, and most of the team is underclassmen. But, there has been some talk about Lyon transferring schools at the end of this year.

"We have some good recruits coming in for next year," said Zenisek. "Hopefully we can become a powerhouse in the ODAC in the upcoming years."

The Marlins will graduate seniors Tom Drabczyk (No. 3 singles, No. 3 doubles) and Jae Park.