George Washington University Athletics
No. 54 GW Men's Tennis Set to Open 2015 on Friday
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Jan. 21, 2015
WASHINGTON - The 54th-ranked George Washington men's tennis team starts its 2015 slate on Friday as it travels to Charlottesville, Virginia, for the two-day ITA Kickoff.
The No. 54 Colonials are seeded fourth in the four-team tournament and will face Atlantic Region opponent in nationally ranked No. 3 and top seeded Virginia Cavaliers on Friday afternoon at 6 p.m. Friday's result will pit the Buff and Blue against either No. 43 Louisville or Atlantic 10 rival No. 51 VCU on Saturday.
The Colonials had a stellar 2014 season under ninth-year Head Coach Greg Munoz, claiming the Atlantic 10 Championship title for the third time in four years and advancing to the NCAA Team Championship while finishing the season with a program-best No. 53 final ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Coach Munoz earned the A-10 Coach of the Year Award, capping a program-record 10 postseason honors for the Colonials.
The Buff and Blue enter the new year in the No. 54 slot with senior Francisco Dias earning a No. 109 national singles ranking. The two-time A-10 Most Outstanding Performer earned his third All-Conference First Team honor last season, and enters the spring with a No. 8 Atlantic Region singles ranking. Dias tallied a fall record of 8-5, highlighted by an upset of the No. 46 singles player in the country.
"Fransicso Dias has had many opportunities to do great things," said Coach Munoz. "He has been A-10 Performer of the Year twice, but I think he has his best shot this year at making it to the NCAA singles and doubles tournament with partner Julius Tverijonas. Francisco always has great wins - we just need to make sure he is ready every day to avoid tough losses against unranked opponents. With our strong schedule, he will have many opportunities to bring his ranking into the top 50 in singles and the top 20 in doubles."
Sophomore Tverijonas opens the season with the region's No. 19 singles ranking after finishing 2014 with A-10 First Team honors alongside Dias and junior Danil Zelenkov. Tverijonas and Dias also make up the region's No. 10 ranked doubles pair, but Tverijonas looks to break into the national singles rankings as well.
"Danil and Julius will have many ranking opportunities, as our opponents this year will have ranked players at the Nos. 2 or 3 spots as well," said Coach Munoz. "Danil will team up with Chris Reynolds."
Freshman Chris Reynolds is the newest member of the squad, making his way onto the roster for the beginning of the spring semester.
"Chris will have a quick learning phase adjusting to life and college tennis in the coming weeks," said Coach Munoz. "He has a big game and should be a big contributor in singles and doubles this year."
GW's large freshman class of six creates depth on the roster that gives several student-athletes the opportunity to contribute in 2015.
"Freshmen Chris Fletcher, Jabari Stafford, Christos Hadjigeorgiou and junior Cahit Kapukiran are playing some great tennis," said Coach Munoz. "All of them have unique characteristics that can make them shine. The depth we have this year may determine how deep we can move in the rankings. We need at least two of them to step up and show they can contribute to the team chemistry on and off the court."
Darian Hashemzadeh and Blake Morton round out the freshman class and look to continue to improve their skills and hope to make an impact this season.
"We look to develop a little more power in Darian's game for him to compete at the collegiate level," said Coach Munoz. "Blake has talent and is super fast, but it will be up to him to see if he will make a contribution to the team."
After qualifying for the NCAA Team Championship three out of the last four years, the Colonials look to advance beyond the first round for the first time in program history.
"Our goal is to break the top-40 this year and advance in the NCAA Tournament," said Coach Munoz. "I am excited to see what we can accomplish."
Streaming video will be available at VirginiaSports.com for GW's first match; live scoring will be available for action on day two.
Players Mentioned
