Chapman Men Win Tennis Title

The Chapman College men’s tennis team beat top-ranked Hampton Institute, 5-2, Wednesday at Sonoma State University for its second straight NCAA Division II championship.

Miles Walker and Olivier Amerlinck beat Luis Nascimento and Flavio Lima , 6-1, 6-3, to lead the Panthers (20-12). Hampton was 29-0 going into the match.

“This one is definitely the sweetest of the three titles,” Chapman Coach Mike Edles said. “We came into the tournament with 12 losses and we weren’t expected to win it.”

Chapman, which has reached the finals the last four years, has defeated Hampton for each of its national titles. The Panthers won, 5-4, in 1985 and 5-1 in 1987. Chapman lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 5-4, in 1986.

The Panthers are the first team to defend the Division II title since Southern Illinois at Edwardsville won seven straight championships from 1978-84.

Chapman won the top four singles matches as Walker defeated Nascimento, 6-2, 6-3; Amerlinck beat Lima, 7-6, 6-4; Paul Charlesworth beat Islam Ul-Haq, 6-3, 6-4, and Allen Juinio beat Muri Ajibade, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6.