MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - No. 1 seed Rice came back from a 3-0 hole against No. 2 Old Dominion to claim the 2017 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship. It is the Owls' second consecutive C-USA title and their third in program history. The Owls women's program claimed their respective championship earlier on Sunday in Denton, Texas, to make it two-straight years that both programs have won the league titles. 

Box Score

Bracket | Championship Central

Old Dominion flew out of the gates with a head of steam, winning the doubles point on courts one and three. Court two was also under Monarch control by the time the point had been won. 

Once singles play got underway, Old Dominion again imposed its will. Monarch No. 1 Adam Moundir, who ranks 50th nationally, clinched the first singles point of the match with a 6-4, 6-1 thrashing of Rice No. 1 Jamie Malik. 

It did not get any easier for Rice as the No. 5 singles match was awarded to Old Dominion due to default with the score tied in the third set. The loss put the Owls into a 3-0 hole, but it was the last point that Rice would concede to the Monarchs. 

The comeback began on court two, where Rice senior Tommy Bennett earned a two-set victory over Old Dominion's Michael Wiendl. Within less than 15 minutes, Rice's Emanuel Llamas and David Warren notched points two and three in three-set victories , setting up the final match on court three. 

All eyes converged on to the No. 4 singles match, where Rice sophomore Jake Hansen was up a break on Old Dominion junior Jacob Nicolussi in the second set with a 1-0 advantage. With the championship on the line, Hansen won four consecutive points in the final game to secure a 7-5, 7-5 victory and a second-straight C-USA Championship for the Rice Owls. 

Rice earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships with the selection show set for Tuesday, May 2, at 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
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No. 2 Old Dominion vs No. 1 Rice
4/23/2017 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
No. 1 Rice 4, No. 2 Old Dominion 3

Singles competition
1. #50 Adam Moundir (ODU) def. Jamie Malik (RICE) 6-4, 6-1
2. Tommy Bennett (RICE) def. Michael Weindl (ODU) 7-5, 7-5
3. David Warren (RICE) def. Javier Jover Maestre (ODU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
4. Jake Hansen (RICE) def. Jacob Nicolussi (ODU) 7-5, 7-5
5. Aziz Kijametovic (ODU) def. Eric Rutledge (RICE) 6-2, 2-6, 3-3, 99-0
6. Emanuel Llamas (RICE) def. Justin Herrera (ODU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Adam Moundir/Javier Jover Maestre (ODU) def. #50 David Warren/Tommy Bennett (RICE) 6-2
2. Jake Hansen/Eric Rutledge (RICE) vs. Aziz Kijametovic/Jose Nunez Navarro (ODU) 2-4, unfinished
3. Michael Weindl/Jacob Nicolussi (ODU) def. Daniel Warren/Henrik Munch (RICE) 6-2

Match Notes:
No. 2 Old Dominion 19-6
No. 1 Rice 23-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,5,2,6,3,4)
C-USA Championship Match
Official: Ted Mason T-2:41 A-53