The Tribe squad that garnered an NCAA Tournament at-large bid and earned its highest Fila/ITA national ranking of 31st a year ago entered this season in prime position to top those marks after having lost only one starter to graduation.
p. The College currently stands at 12-9 (4-0 CAA) and is ranked no. 55. The Tribe climbed as high as no. 38 in the polls before dropping five consecutive matches at the hands of opponents averaging a rank of 33.6, later returning to early season form in a 4-1 upset over no. 46 Oklahoma.
p. The Tribe maintains the same goals that motivated the team in its past seasons.
p. “We want to get the team to the NCAAs — a singles team to the NCAAs and a doubles team to the NCAAs,” Head Coach Peter Daub said.
p. Senior Alex Cojanu and sophomore Keziel Juneau lead the College on the courts. The duo earned All-CAA honors last season as both players claimed first team doubles accolades, while Cojanu also garnered a spot on the singles first-team and Keziel took home third-team singles honors. Keziel also collected the VaSID State Rookie of the Year award.
p. Cojanu and Juneau currently hold the no. 39 doubles ranking in the country and are 10-8 on the season with three wins over ranked opponents.
p. “They have worked hard [this season],” Daub said. “We have been on a roller coaster at times … the key is for everybody to play well, all the time, on a consistent basis.”
p. Junior Marwan Ramadan has produced a team-leading 19 singles victories to lead the College. Ramadan is the reigning CAA Singles Player of the Week and, according to Daub, is the most consistent player on the team. The junior was commended by the CAA after recording two wins in his past three matches against nationally ranked opponents including a three set victory over
p. Steve Robertson of no. 41 Boise State University.
p. The Tribe has reigned in the last two CAA doubles teams of the week. The tandem of senior Kavi Sud and freshman Sebastien Vidal collected the March 9 award after defeating three straight ranked pairs, bettering their doubles record to 12-2 on the season. The duo collected triumphs at the no. 3 doubles slot over no. 67 University of Minnesota, no. 41 Boise State and no. 3 Georgia University.
p. Cojanu and junior Dominic Pagon received the CAA doubles team for the week of March 16 following an upset victory over the no. 28 team doubles team of Andrei Daescu and Federico Chavarria from Oklahoma University 4-2. The honor was the fourth career doubles award for Cojanu while it was the first for Pagon.
The Tribe faces Virginia Commonwealth University Friday in Richmond.