Cavalier Men's Tennis Stays Unbeaten in ACC with Win Over Wake Forest

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March 20, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 16 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team improved to 4-0 in the ACC for the first time in school history as they topped No. 46 Wake Forest 4-3 Saturday afternoon at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers are now 14-1 on the season, also a school record for a start to a season. Wake Forest falls to 7-6, 0-2 in the ACC.

The Cavaliers took an early advantage by taking the doubles point which proved to be critical. No. 17 ranked team of Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) topped Brett Ross and Andrew Hamar 8-3 at the No. 1 position. After the Wake team of DJ Spice and Todd Paul won at No. 3, the Cavalier duo of Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) and Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) secured an 8-6 win over David Loewenthal and Andrew Simpson at No. 2 to clinch the point.

In singles play, the Cavaliers extended their advantage to 2-0 with Cohen’s straight set win over Simpson at No. 6. However, the Demon Deacons quickly drew even as Spice upset Stewart in a battle of nationally ranked players at No. 1 and Hamar defeated Meythaler at No. 5. Virginia retook the lead when Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) completed a straight set win over Ross at No. 4. Rizza clinched the match minutes later as he rallied for a three-set win over Paul at No. 2, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

“This conference is so tough and every match is going to be a battle,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Wake is an explosive team and we knew this would be a tough match. Last season we lost a lot of these close matches and this season we have matured and are winning these 4-3 matches.”

The Cavaliers return to action on Monday, March 22 as they host Colorado. Time of the match at the Snyder Tennis Center is 3:30 p.m.

No. 16 Virginia 4, No. 46 Wake Forest 3

Singles:
1. No. 68 DJ Spice (WF) def. No. 24 Doug Stewart (UVa) 6-2, 6-3
2. Rylan Rizza (UVa) def. Todd Paul (WF) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. David Loewenthal (WF) def. Stephen Rozek (UVa) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Brett Ross (WF) 7-6, 6-1
5. No. 83 Andrew Hamar (WF) def. Nick Meythaler (UVa) 6-3, 6-4
6. Darrin Cohen (UVa) def. Andrew Simpson (WF) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles:
1. No. 17 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. Ross/Hamar (WF) 8-3
2. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) def. Loewenthal/Simpson (WF) 8-6
3. Paul/Spice (WF) def. Rozek/Miklo (UVa) 8-4