PETERSBURG, VA – The top seeded teams all advanced on the opening day of the 2012 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Men’s Tennis Championship Tournament, Thursday at the Virginia State University Tennis Courts on the campus of Virginia State University. The tournament got off to an exciting start with quality action on each court.
 
The #4 Chowan Hawks got things started when they took a 5-0 win over the #5 Lincoln (Pa.) Lions on Thursday afternoon. The Hawks got things started with a 3-0 sweep in doubles play. The tandem of Danilo Galovic and Adam Moneypenny took an 8-4 win while the duo of Sasha Kirsanov and Jaqwese Williams claimed an 8-5 doubles win. The Hawks took the third doubles set by virtue of a default in the third doubles set. With the 3-0 doubles sweep, the Hawks needed just two singles wins. After claiming a win by default in the sixth singles set, the Hawks got what they needed when Galovic took a 6-0, 6-1 singles victory to seal the victory and advance to the semifinals of the tournament.
 
The #3 Winston-Salem State Rams followed suit when the team took a 5-0 win over #6 Johnson C. Smith in the second match of the day. The Rams got things started with three straight doubles play. The WSSU duo of Nick John and Drew Dunzweiler had the most impressive performance with an 8-0 win in doubles play. The duo of Leandro Imaz and Johnathan Aubrey also added an 8-1 doubles win while WSSU’s Creighton Jones and Chris Jeter took the #1 singles win with an 8-2 effort. In singles play, the Rams scored a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins with Aubrey and Dunzweiler both claiming wins.
 
The #2 seeded Virginia State Trojans advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a 5-0 win over the #7 seeded Virginia Union Panthers. The host Trojans opened the match with three straight doubles wins, including taking a default win at the #3 doubles spot and an 8-2 win at #1 doubles and an 8-3 win at #2 doubles. With the three doubles points and a default win at the #6 singles position, Nicholas Pfab scored the clinching win with a 6-0, 6-0 singles win.
 
The top-seeded Shaw Bears closed out the day with a 5-0 win over the #8 seed Saint Augustine’s Falcons. The Bears opened the match with three straight doubles wins, including a default win at the #3 doubles position and an 8-0 win at #1 doubles and an 8-1 win at #2 doubles. With the three wins as well as a default win at the #6 singles position, the Bears clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 win by Charles Silva at the #3 singles position.
 
With the wins, the top seeded teams all advance to the semifinal round of the tournament where the top-seeded Shaw Bears will take on the #4 Chowan Hawks while the #3 seeded Rams will take on the #2 seeded Virginia State Trojans. The matches are scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Virginia State University Tennis Courts on the campus of Virginia State University.