April 6, 2005

RICHMOND, Va. -- Old Dominion senior Izak van der Merwe (Kempton Park South Africa) was selected as the CAA men's tennis Player Of The Week for the week for April 5th marking his second weekly accolade.

Van der Merwe, who moved up to #26 in the latest ITA Poll released on April 5th, knocked off then-#11 Arnaud Lecloerec of Virginia Commonwealth, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 as the Monarchs upset the 35th-ranked Rams 4-1 on Sunday. It was ODU's first win over VCU since 1989-90 and was just the Rams' second CAA loss since joining the league in 1995-96. The victory improved van der Merwe's record to 22-9 overall this season, including 13-5 in dual matches.

The Monarch men's tennis team, who return to the polls this week at #69, returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to William and Mary for a 4:30 p.m. showdown in Williamsburg. The Monarchs return home on Sunday hosting UNC-Wilmington at noon.