April showers have led to May flowers, and for tennis, this means the season has come to a close. For the Drexel Men and Women’s tennis team, the season ended with the CAA Tennis Championship.
Drexel’s Men’s team, the No. 7 seed, were set to play against the No. 10 Hofstra Pride on April 18 in Richmond, VA. The team ended the regular season with an overall record of 12-8 and, in conference play, a record of 2-3. Individually, the team have played superbly this season, with six different players having several victories. Leading the team in victories is junior Hussein El Tawil, with 18. Will Burridge, Alex De Sousa and Egor Kirakosov all have 15 victories each, followed by Josue Guzman with 13 and No. 1 singles player Alan Jesudason with 12.
In their contest, the Dragons defeated the Hofstra Pride 4-0 at the Mackesy Tennis Center. In the top-seeded match, Jesudason and De Sousa defeated their opponents 6-1. The same result appeared in the third-seeded match as El Tawil and Pierre Humayou finished 6-1. The singles play yielded more victories as De Sousa defeated Hofstra in the No. 3 spot, Kirakosov won in the No. 5 seed, and Jesudason took over the top-seeded match. The team advanced to the CAA Quarterfinals against the No. 2 seed, the Delaware Blue Hens, on April 19, where the Hens grasped a victory. The Men’s Dragons finished their season with a record of 13-9 and ended their conference play 2-3.
The Women’s Tennis Team played in the CAA Women’s Championship on April 25 in Elon, North Carolina. At No. 4, the team had the highest CAA Tournament seeding in the program’s history. They earned a first round bye and played No. 5 Elon after Elon Phoenix triumphed over No. 12 Monmouth.
The team defeated Elon 4-2 and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. In doubles, the Dragons found success as Elisa Rigazio and Maddie Ricardo won 6-3 in the second seeded match, while Isabel Cabrerizo and Adva Dabah triumphed in a 6-1 victory. In the singles matches, Drexel was just as victorious as Ricardo defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-2. As the second-seed, Rigazio won 7-6, 6-1. Finally, Lorie Lemongo won back-to-back sets, pulling Drexel to victory.
In the semifinals, the Dragons were to face the Delaware Blue Hens, the top seed in the tournament. The Blue Hens took over doubles as the Dragons lost their first and second seed matches. In a tough match, the third seed was also lost to the Blue Hens. In singles, the Blue hens dominated, taking the fourth, third, and sixth-seeded matches. Drexel Women’s Tennis ended their regular season play with a record of 11-7 and a 3-2 record in conference play. The team’s victories were led by Lemongo, the women’s No. 1 seed, with 17 individual wins. This year, the team also had several players who won over 11 matches. During the spring, Cabrerizo led the team with a 13-4 record as the fourth seed. In doubles, the pairing of Rigazio and Ricardo has led to a 13-2 record as the No. 2 seed.