FINAL FOUR SIMILAR IN MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS AFTER DAY ONE OF CIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

April 21, 2011

Ettrick, VA – The semifinals are set for men’s and women’s tennis after day one of the 2011 CIAA Tennis Championships hosted by Virginia State University at the VSU Tennis Courts.

In tournament play, after the fifth team point in recorded the team advances. Any other matches in still in play end in an unfinished result. 

Competition began with No. 5 JCSU women’s tennis advancing past No. 4 Chowan University with a 5-2 victory. Although the Lady Hawks won match points at the No. 1 doubles and singles, J.C. Smith claimed victory with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions along with the No. 4, 5, and 6 singles spots.

The Lady Trojans of Virginia State University (No. 3 seed) charged past Fayetteville State University (No. 6 seed) with a 5-1 opening match win. FSU dropped the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to fall behind 2-1 going towards singles play. Tamilia Hicks and Valencia Williams of Virginia State swept their opponents (6-0, 6-0) at the No. 4 and No. 6 singles, respectively. VSU advance with the win at the No. 4 singles.

The women of Shaw University (No. 2 seed) took the first two doubles and first three singles matches to beat out Bowie State University (No. 7 seed) 5-2. BSU earned two points off forfeits from Shaw at the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.

The Lady Rams of Winston-Salem State University (No. 1 seed) eased past Bowie State University (No. 8 seed) with a 5-0 sweep. WSSU won all three doubles matches, including a forfeit at the No. 3 spot. Bowie State also had a forfeit at the No. 6 singles position and were ultimately eliminated with a loss in the No. 4 singles.

Women’s Bracket - Semifinals

Virginia State University (No. 3 seed) versus Shaw University (No. 2 seed)

Winston-Salem State University (No. 1 seed) versus Johnson C. Smith University (No. 5 seed)

Aside from another No. 5 over No. 4 upset by Johnson C. Smith over Chowan, the seeding held up in the men’s bracket as well. The Golden Bulls and Hawks were in a deadlock 4-4 tie with only the No. 1 singles play remaining to determine the winner. Robert Butts bested Adam Moneypenny (6-4, 6-3) to advance JCSU.

Virginia State (No. 3 seed) managed a clean sweep against Lincoln (PA) University (No. 6 seed). The Lions dropped all three doubles matches as well as the No. 3 and No. 5 singles.

Winston-Salem (No. 2 seed) defeated Virginia Union University (No. 7 seed) in a similar fashion. The Rams of WSSU topped the Panthers in each doubles match and No. 4 and No. 5 singles.

Defending CIAA Champions, Shaw University (No. 1 seed) took out St. Augustine’s College (No. 8 seed) with a 5-0 victory. The Falcons forfeited No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. The Bears won the remaining doubles matches and No. 3 singles to advance to the semifinals.

The JCSU-Chowan match was the only match throughout the day to see all nine points played out. It was also the only match on the men’s side that did not result in a sweep.

Men’s Bracket - Semifinals

Virginia State University (No. 3 seed) versus Winston-Salem State University (No. 2 seed)

Shaw University (No. 1 seed) versus Johnson C. Smith University (No. 5 seed)

The women’s semifinals is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. with Virginia State taking on Shaw at the VSU Tennis Courts. Winston-Salem State versus Johnson C. Smith will follow to determine who will play for the 2011 Women’s Championship.

The men’s semifinals is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. with Virginia State challenging Winston-Salem at the VSU Tennis Courts. Shaw versus Johnson C. Smith will follow to determine who will play for the 2011 Men’s Championship.