No. 1 Cavalier Men's Tennis Downs No. 26 Notre Dame 4-3

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Jan. 27, 2006

RICHMOND, Va. – For the second consecutive season, the Virginia men’s tennis team won the last match on the courts to defeat Notre Dame at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond in front of over 500 fans. The No. 1 ranked Cavaliers got wins from Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) and Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) to clinch the win, which improves Virginia’s record to 4-1, while the No. 26 Fighting Irish fall to 1-1.

As was the case when the teams met last season at CCV, the match began with No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Each team won one of the early singles matches, as Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) won in straight sets over Patrick Buchanan at No. 6 singles for the Cavaliers, while Ryan Keckley defeated Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) at No. 5 singles.

With the score tied at 1-1, the Cavaliers took a 2-1 by taking the doubles point. The No. 35 ranked team of Devvarman and Treat Huey (Alexnadria, Va.) got a win at the No. 1 position, defeating Keckley and Barry King 8-4. The No. 19 ranked duo of Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) downed Sheeva Parbhu and Brett Helgeson 8-5 at No. 2.

The final four singles matches followed, with all going three sets. Notre Dame rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the dual match with wins at No. 3 and No. 4. King defeated Rizza 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 at No. 3 and Helgeson downed Huey 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4. Virginia tied the match as Stewart upset No. 14 ranked Parbhu 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 at No. 2 singles. With the dual match tied at 3-3, the outcome rested at No. 1, where No. 10 ranked Devvarman defeated No. 8 ranked Stephen Bass 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

“We and Notre Dame are really starting a tradition of playing great 4-3 matches here in Richmond,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Notre Dame is a great team and it was a great match tonight. For the second straight year, the Country Club of Virginia provided a great atmosphere for this match as the crowd tonight was amazing.”

The Cavaliers will travel to Champaign, Ill. this weekend to play No. 4 Illinois Sunday at noon (CT). Virginia returns home on February 4 as it hosts No. 7 Baylor at 5:00 p.m. at the Indoor Tennis Stadium at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 26 Notre Dame 3

Doubles:
1) #35 Devvarman/Huey (UVa) def. Keckley/King (ND) 8-4
2) #19 Rizza/Cohen (UVa) def. Parbhu/Helgeson (ND) 8-5
3) Langenkamp/Bass (ND) def. Meythaler/Riley (UVa) 8-3

Singles:
1) #10 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) def. #8 Stephen Bass (ND) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2) Doug Stewart (UVa) def. #14 Sheeva Parbhu (ND) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
3) Barry King (ND) def. #53 Rylan Rizza (UVa) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
4) Brett Helgeson (ND) def. #6 Treat Huey (UVa) 6-7, 6-1, 6-1
5) Ryan Keckley (ND) def. Nick Meythaler (UVa) 6-2, 6-4
6) #46 Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Patrick Buchanan (ND) 6-3, 6-1