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Feb. 29, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 27 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team rebounded from its first loss of the season on Friday with a 4-3 win at No. 64 Indiana Sunday afternoon. The win improves the Cavaliers’ record to 10-1 on the season, as they reach the 10-win plateau for the 36th consecutive season.
The Cavaliers opened the match by taking the doubles point, which proved to be critical. The No. 20 ranked team of Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) defeated No. 49 Ryan Recht and John Stone of Indiana at the No. 1 position. Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) and Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) won at No. 3 for Virginia.
In singles play, the teams split the six matches, which gave the Cavaliers the 4-3 dual match win. The Cavaliers got straight set wins at No. 3 and No. 4 from Rizza and Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia). Then, with the match tied at 3-3, the dual match would be decided on the result of the match at No. 5, the last one remaining on the courts. Meythaler prevailed in three sets, topping Ryan McCarthy to clinch the win for Virginia.
“I am proud of Nick in how he handled a pressure situation and came through with a big win for us,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Indiana is a quality team and this is a tough place to come and get a win. It was the first time we needed to rebound after a loss this season and I don’t think we played as well as we are capable of playing. Anytime you get a win over a ranked team on the road, you have to pleased.”
The Cavaliers return home on March 7 as they host No. 17 Texas at the Snyder Tennis Center at noon.
No. 27 Virginia 4, No. 64 Indiana 3
Singles:
1. Jakub Praibis (IU) def. No. 18 Doug Stewart (UVa) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Ryan Recht (IU) def. No. 98 Stephen Rozek (UVa) 6-4, 6-4
3. Rylan Rizza (UVa) def. Neil Kenner (IU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Tom Bagnato (IU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Nick Meythaler (UVa) def. Ryan McCarthy (IU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
6. John Stone (IU) def. Darrin Cohen (UVa) 7-6, 6-0
Doubles:
1. No. 20 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. No. 49 Stone/Recht (IU) 8-6
2. Praibis/Ishtuganov (IU) def. Miklo/Rozek (UVa) 9-8
3. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) def. Kenner/McCarthy (IU) 8-4