Moritz Bernhoerster and some talented freshman lead Charlotte towards a repeat A-10 crown. |
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Charlotte Men's Tennis Defends A-10 Title at Conference Tournament This Weekend
April 4, 2008
Philadelphia, Pa. - The defending Atlantic 10 Champion Charlotte 49ers men's tennis team earned the three-seed in the upcoming Conference Tournament Championship this weekend. The team will head back to Monroeville, Pa. in an attempt to follow up their first-ever league championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament.
By virtue of the third seed, Charlotte earns a bye and will face the winner of the 11 a.m. Friday match between No. 11 La Salle and No. 6 Richmond. Charlotte will play in the 5 p.m. match on Friday.
Charlotte returns only three players from last year's team that won the league title.
"This is a huge difference from last year," said Niners head coach Jim Boykin. "For our freshmen, this is all new to them. The guys who came back, we're missing basically one through five in our lineup. For some of the guys playing up top, it's foreign territory to them."
Charlotte is led by freshmen Moritz Bernhoerster (17-11 singles), Michael Anders (16-11 singles) and Chris Huynh (11-7) on the singles side, making the Niners the youngest team in the draw, a stark contrast from last year's veteran team.
"The difference between dropping to the back draw in the first round and winning the whole thing may be just a few points," said Boykin.
"We're not as strong as last year, but we've played some solid tennis. People may say we have a lot of freshmen coming in and be easy pickings. But we've played some tight matches and fought hard. We're not an easy out by any means."
Charlotte was nearly eliminated in its first round match last year before going on to win their first conference championship.
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The seeds for the Championship are George Washington (first), Xavier (second), Charlotte (third), Duquesne (fourth), St. Bonaventure (fifth), Richmond (sixth), Saint Joseph's (seventh), Rhode Island (eighth), Dayton (ninth), Saint Louis(tenth), La Salle (eleventh) and Fordham (twelfth).
"If we can play the best we can, we'll be a factor in the tournament," said Boykin. "It should be exciting because there will be some close matches. The seeding was tough and we all respect each other. Just keep moving in the main draw, that's everyone's goal."
