The Colonials dominated from start to finish Friday, beating Richmond 5-0 to advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship.

Second-seeded GW, which earned a first-round bye in the tournament, had faced off against the Spiders earlier this season, winning 5-2. But the Colonials saved their best tennis for their second match, winning each of their singles matches in straight sets.

“It felt good today. We are focused and we feel like we are playing our best tennis of the spring,” head coach Greg Munoz said. “It’s tough playing as the higher seed when you are facing a team that you’ve played already this season. They have nothing to lose and will play aggressively. We stayed focused though.”

The Colonials easily secured the first point of the day – the doubles point – after winning all three matches. Junior Nikita Fomin and freshman Danil Zelenkov dominated from the No. 2 doubles position, winning 8-3.

Senior Alex van Gils and junior Ulrik Thomsen prevailed 8-4 in No. 1 doubles, while senior Leo Lapentti and sophomore Francisco Dias earned an 8-4 victory at No. 3 doubles.

“This is the best team we’ve ever put out. Every team we are potentially going to play is a team we’ve faced already,” Munoz said. “Those teams want a shot at us but we are a tough team to defeat. This is a mental game and we need to be prepared to give out best.”

The Colonials continued to dominate in singles. Dias won quickly from the No. 2 singles position, dominating in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2. Zelenkov also finished off his No. 3 singles opponent early in his first ever conference tournament, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Fomin earned the victory in No. 1 singles, winning, 6-3, 6-2, while junior Viktor Svensson closed out the match for the Colonials by winning, 6-4, 6-1, from the No. 6 position.

The Colonials will play third-seeded Charlotte in the semifinals as they continue to play for their third-straight A-10 title.