No. 7 Cavalier Men's Tennis Downs No. 8 Baylor 6-1
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Feb. 4, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE – In front of the largest crowd in school history, the No. 7 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team downed No. 8 Baylor 6-1 Saturday night in a top ten showdown at the Indoor Tennis Stadium at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. A near capacity crowd of 890 saw the Cavaliers capture their most lopsided win over a top ten opponent in school history.
The Cavaliers (5-2) opened the match strong, taking the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. The No. 25 ranked team of Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) and Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) got Virginia started, as they defeated Lars Poerschke and Vladimir Portnov 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) then clinched the opening point when they downed the No. 31 ranked team of Jon Reckewey and Matija Zgaga 8-4 at the No. 2 position.
In singles, the Bears (1-2) tied the match at 1-1 when Poerschke, the nation’s top ranked player, downed Stewart in straight sets at No. 1 singles. However, that would be Baylor’s lone point of the night, as the Cavaliers won the final five singles matches on the courts. Cohen gave the Cavaliers the lead again at 2-1 when he completed a 7-6, 6-2 win over Reckewey at No. 6 singles. Rizza made the score 3-1 with his 7-6, 6-1 win over Michal Kokta at No. 3 singles. Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) clinched the dual match win as he rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 win over Will Ward at the No. 4 position. Seconds later, Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) completed a 6-4, 7-6 win over Portnov at No. 5. Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) closed out the match with a three set win at No. 2, defeating Zgaga 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
The win increased Virginia’s school record home winning to 18 matches, dating back to April of 2004. The crowd of 890 broke the Cavalier single match record of 627 set at Snyder Tennis Center last season during a NCAA Tournament match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
“I was really pleased with our overall performance tonight,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “The crowd was amazing. They gave us a boost in doubles and that momentum lasted throughout the night. I was particularly pleased with the play of our doubles, and by guys like Marko and Rylan in singles. Tonight was an indication of our improvement as a team this season. We now are looking forward to another match tomorrow against a really good Michigan team.”
The Cavaliers will host No. 52 Michigan (4-0) Sunday afternoon at the Indoor Tennis Stadium at Boar’s Head Sports Club. Match time is 1:00 p.m, and admission is free.
No. 7 Virginia 6, No. 8 Baylor 1
Doubles:
1) Kokta/Ward (Bay) def. #35 Devvarman/Huey (UVa) 7-6 (5)
2) Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. #31 Zgaga/Reckewey (Bay) 8-4
3) #25 Cohen/Stewart (UVa) def. Poerschke/Portnov (Bay) 8-4
Singles:
1) #1 Lars Poerschke (Bay) def. Doug Stewart (UVa) 6-3, 6-2
2) #10 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) def. Matija Zgaga (Bay) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3) #53 Rylan Rizza (UVa) def. #31 Michal Kokta (Bay) 7-6, 6-1
4) #6 Treat Huey (UVa) def. Will Ward (Bay) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
5) #46 Marko Miklo (UVa) def. #94 Vladimir Portnov (Bay) 6-4, 7-6
6) Darrin Cohen (UVa) def. Jon Reckewey (Bay) 7-6, 6-2