Cavalier Men's Tennis Tops Ole Miss to Reach National Indoor Final

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Feb. 19, 2005

CHICAGO – The No. 9 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team reached the finals of the 2005 USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a 4-1 win over No. 6 Mississippi Saturday afternoon at the Mid-Town Tennis Club. With the victory, the Cavaliers become just the second ACC Team to reach the finals of the tournament.

Virginia (8-0) took the early lead by winning the doubles point. Ole Miss won the first match off the courts as Erling Tveit and Fredrik Aarum downed Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) at No. 2 doubles. The Cavaliers drew even when Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) and Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) defeated Bram ten Berge and Jakob Klaeson at No. 3 doubles. Then the No. 19 ranked team of Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) clinched the point with a 8-5 win over Catalin Gard and Eric Claesson at No. 1 doubles.

The Cavaliers extended their lead to 2-0 as No. 104 ranked Huey defeated Klaeson 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 singles. Ole Miss (6-1) cut that lead in half when Tveit defeated Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4 singles. Virginia extended the lead to 3-1 when No. 22 Devvarman rallied to defeat ten Barge in three sets at No. 3 singles. Minutes later, No. 19 Stewart clinched the match as he bested Gard, the nation’s No. 1 ranked player, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1 singles.

“It was a great match as both teams played very well,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “We came out with a lot more energy in doubles than we did yesterday and used it to our advantage. I have no doubt tomorrow will be another really tough match, regardless of the opponent. It is going to be exciting.”

The Cavaliers advance to Sunday’s championship match where they will play either No. 1 and defending NCAA Champion Baylor or No. 3 and defending National Indoor Champion Illinois. Time for the championship match is 1:00 p.m.

No. 9 Virginia 4, No. 6 Mississippi 1

Doubles:
1. #19 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. Gard/Claesson(Miss) 8-5
2. Tviet/Aarum (Miss) def. Devvarman/Huey (UVa) 8-5
3. Stewart/Cohen (UVa) def. Klaeson/ten Berge (Miss) 8-4

Singles:
1. #19 Doug Stewart (UVa) def. #1 Catalin Gard (Miss) 6-4, 6-2
2. Eric Claesson (Miss) led #36 Rylan Rizza (UVa) 6-3, 6-5 DNF
3. #22 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) def. Bram ten Berge (Miss) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Erling Tveit (Miss) def. #63 Marko Miklo (UVa) 6-3, 6-4
5. #104 Treat Huey (UVa) def. Jakob Klaeson (Miss) 6-3, 6-4
6. Darrin Cohen (UVa) led Juan Pablo De Cesare (Miss) 7-6, 4-3 DNF