No. 2 Cavalier Men's Tennis Defeats No. 16 Texas

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March 8, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas – Playing the their third top-25 opponent in a five day span, the second ranked Cavaliers posted a 4-3 win over No. 16 Texas Tuesday night at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin. The Cavaliers captured the win, their seventh over a current top 25 team, despite not having two starters in the lineup.

The Cavaliers (12-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, No. 29 ranked team of Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) topped No. 39 Callum Beale and Travis Helgeson 8-5. The Longhorns (5-2) drew even when Luis Diaz Barriga and Garrett Snyder edged Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) and Eric Riley (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) 9-7 at No. 3 doubles. With the doubles point on the line, Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) and Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) topped Hubert Chodkiewicz and Roger Gubser 9-7 at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, the Cavaliers had their advantage become 2-1 after the teams split the first two matches completed. Huey topped No. 92 ranked Helgeson 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles. The Longhorns got a win at No. 6 singles, where Chodkiewicz topped Jarrett Chirico (Sarasota, Fla.) in straight sets. Texas then tied the match at 2-2 when No. 44 ranked Beale defeated No. 8 ranked Stewart 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. The Cavaliers retook the lead when No. 38 ranked Rizza scored a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 61 Gubser at No. 2 singles. The final two matches went three sets, with the Cavaliers needing to win one of them to win the match. Meythaler got that victory, rallying from being down a break in the third set to top Barriga 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 at No. 5 singles. While trailing 6-5 in the third set, Meythaler fought off two match points against him to force the tiebreaker, which he won. Milan Mihailovic won the final match on the courts for Texas, downing Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 4 singles.

“Our depth came through for us tonight,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “We had to pull Cohen and Somdev (Devvarman) with minor injuries. Nick jumped into the lineup and came through for us, rallying in the third set to clinch the match. Give Texas a lot of credit, they played very well tonight. Winning the doubles point was huge, and we were able to carry that momentum into singles to win the dual match.”

The Cavaliers will return to action on Friday, March 11 as they conclude their trip to Texas with a match against No. 12 Texas A&M. Match time is set for 5:00 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, the site of the NCAA Championships this May.

No. 2 Virginia 4, No. 16 Texas 3

Doubles:
1. #29 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. #38 Beale/Helgeson (UT) 8-5
2. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) vs. Chodkiewicz/Gubser (UT)
3. Barriga/Snyder (UT) def. Riley/Huey (UVa) 9-7

Singles:
1. #44 Callum Beale (UT) def. #8 Doug Stewart (UVa) 6-3, 6-3
2. #38 Rylan Rizza (UVa) def. #61 Roger Gubser (UT) 6-4, 6-4
3. Treat Huey (UVa) def. #92 Travis Helgeson (UT) 6-2, 6-3
4. Milan Mihailovic (UT) def. #96 Marko Miklo (UVa) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
5. Nick Meythaler (UVa) def. Luis Diaz Barriga (UT) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
6. Hubert Chodkiewicz (UT) def. Jarrett Chirico (UVa) 6-4, 6-0