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Feb. 21, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 29 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team won its ninth consecutive match to start the season, tying the best start in school history, with a 5-2 win Saturday night over No. 75 Pacific at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. For the Cavaliers, it was their sixth win over a ranked opponent this year.
The Cavaliers opened the match strong by taking the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) and Stephen Rozek (Chardon, Ohio) won at No. 1 before Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Burak Ahmed (Boca Raton, Fla.) won at No. 3 to clinch the point. Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) and Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) concluded the sweep with a win at No. 2.
In singles play, Pacific tied the match early with Arnar Sigurdsson’s upset of Rozek. Miklo then helped the Cavaliers retake the lead 2-1 with a straight set win at No. 3. However, Pacific posted a win at No. 6 to tie the match with the three remaining matches in the third set. Virginia came away victorious in each of those matches. Cohen won at No. 5 as the Cavaliers retook the lead and Stewart’s win at No. 1 clinched the victory. Rizza won at No. 4 to close out the match.
“When you play a team as dangerous as Pacific, you need to stay focused,” said assistant coach Tony Bresky. “Some of our guys did that and others did not. A couple of them overcame that and still battled for a win. I think the difference was our experience in tough matches this season. It was a good win and now we have to ready ourselves for our biggest challenge yet.”
Virginia returns to action on Friday, February 27 as they visit No. 1 and defending National Champion, Illinois.
No. 29 Virginia 5, No. 75 Pacific 2
Singles:
1. No. 25 Doug Stewart (UVa) def. Lennart Maack (UP) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
2. Arnar Sigurdsson (UP) def. No. 62 Stephen Rozek (UVa) 6-0, 6-3
3. Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Niclas Otte (UP) 6-2, 6-1
4. Rylan Rizza (UVa) def. Vladimir Zdravkovic (UP) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
5. Darrin Cohen (UVa) def. Alan Kelly (UP) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
6. Tyler Black (UVa) def. Chris Gonyer (UVa) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles:
1. Rozek/Miklo (UVa) def. Otte/Zdravkovic (UP) 8-2
2. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) def. Maack/Sigurdsson (UP) 9-7
3. Rizza/Ahmed (UVa) def. Kelly/Black (UP) 8-3