April 21, 2007

Shaw Clinches Its Third CIAA Men's Tennis Championship Crown

Bears' Ibukun Ilesanmi named Tournament's Most Valuable Player

PETERSBURG, VA – Shaw claimed the 2007 CIAA Men's Tennis Championship title for the third straight year, denying Johnson C. Smith a shot at the league crown.  Shaw scored a 58 point victory on the campus of Virginia State University on Saturday afternoon. The Bears also received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

The two teams have been neck and neck at each other in the championship match for the last three years with the Bears coming out on top all three years.

In the singles action, the Bears quickly took care of business as they took five of the six singles championships.   Ibukun Ilesanmi, the CIAA Player of the Year, got things started for the Bears with a defeat of Andrea Peres of North Carolina Central by a score of 6-3, 9-1.  After that win Daniel Sabogal, Mehdi Ben Cheikh, Alexandra Lord Andrade, and Emmanuel Ameh all went on to win their singles championships.

Shaw’s Ilesanmi, a freshman from Lagos, Nigeria, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after finishing 2-0 in both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles action.

The Bears are awaiting their next round of play in the NCAA Division II Tournament.  

For more information contact the Shaw University Office of Sports Information at mwilliams@shawu.edu or go to www.shawbears.com for updates.