George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Tennis 2016 Season Outlook
1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Jan. 27, 2016
WASHINGTON - The defending Atlantic 10 champion George Washington men's tennis team begins the 2016 season on Thursday afternoon, as the Colonials host Middle Tennessee State at the indoor Southeast Tennis Center in Washington, D.C., for a noon contest.
GW will then travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to take on Southern Miss on Saturday before closing its first weekend of spring semester play at No. 31 Mississippi State on Sunday.
In 2015, the Colonials defeated VCU in the Atlantic 10 Conference championship match for the second consecutive year, grabbing the squad's fourth league crown in the last five seasons. GW led the A-10 with nine postseason conference awards.
GW returns all but one of its championship lineup in 2016 after Francisco Dias graduated as one of the program's most decorated student-athletes.
Entering his 10th spring with the Colonials, Head Coach Greg Munoz looks for a healthy junior Julius Tverijonas to top the singles lineup. An All-Conference Second Team member in 2015, the Siauliai, Lithuania, native posted an overall 9-7 singles record with a 5-4 dual match mark, despite being sidelined with illness for much of the season.
Tverijonas tallied a team-best 8-3 solo mark during the fall semester and ranks as the ITA Atlantic Region's No. 20 solo player to start the spring. Tverijonas paired up with senior Danil Zelenkov to lead the Colonials this fall with a 9-2 doubles record that included a victory over the nation's No. 46 ranked duo. The tandem enters 2016 with a No. 7 ranking in the region.
"Julius is likely our No. 1 player this season," said Coach Munoz. "He's a ranked-level player, he just has to have a full year of continued success."
Zelenkov put together a solid fall on the singles side as well, tallying a 6-3 mark and earning a No. 19 region ranking coming off of an A-10 All-Conference First Team selection last season. The Skopje, Macedonia, native has been a crucial member of GW's championship teams, owning a career singles record of 12-1 against A-10 opponents and an unblemished 13-0 conference mark in doubles play.
"Danil is one of the best No. 2 players I've ever had," said Coach Munoz. "He has always been a great competitor for the team, and I would love to see Julius and Danil get ranked in both singles and doubles."
Sophomore Chris Fletcher, a native of Ontario, Canada, returns for the Colonials after grabbing All-Conference First Team honors in his rookie season playing at the No. 3 solo slot.
"Chris Fletcher is playing lights-out right now, fantastic tennis," said Coach Munoz. "He just works hard and he's always the one who's in the best shape. He's gaining a lot of confidence that he didn't have last year."
Senior Cahit Kapukiran and sophomore Christos Hadjigeorgiou grabbed All-Conference Second Team nods in their first seasons as Colonials in 2015. Joining GW after transferring from Stetson, Kapukiran wrapped last season with a 10-match singles win streak. The Izmir, Turkey, product tallied a solid 4-4 singles performance in the fall and put together a 5-3 doubles record with sophomore Chris Reynolds.
Hadjigeorgiou posted a 5-4 fall tournament singles record and paired with Fletcher for a 4-2 doubles mark.
Reynolds joined the Colonials in the spring 2015 semester and battled illness for much of his first season at GW. The Surrey, England, native grew increasingly stronger in the fall, tallying a solid 6-2 singles record.
"We've got Chris Fletcher, Christos, Cahit and Chris Reynolds all playing solid tennis right now - much better than they were last year," said Head Coach Munoz. "Chris Reynolds was sick last year so we didn't even get to see what he could do, but this year's he's playing great. Christos is playing with more confidence and is learning what he needs to do at the college level to compete. Cahit has been a very reliable player."
Sophomore Jabari Stafford and junior newcomer Fernando Sala will fight for a spot in the lineup, posting fall singles marks of 4-2 and 6-4, respectively, while pairing up for a 5-2 doubles record. Sala embarks on his first spring as a Colonial after transferring from Clemson.
Overall, the Colonials look to put together a healthy season in defense of their A-10 title.
"I'm proud of what we accomplished last year given what we went through," said Coach Munoz. "This year, VCU is going to be tough - I believe they're better than they were last year. We're better too, and we have an interesting schedule that includes teams we haven't played before. I just want to get through this year healthy and see what these guys can accomplish."
Players Mentioned
