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April 16, 2006
DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 11 ranked Virginia men’s tennis team captured a share of its third consecutive ACC regular season title Sunday as it downed No. 6 Duke 5-2 at the Ambler Tennis Stadium. With the win, the Cavaliers improve to 19-7 on the season, 9-2 in the ACC, as they finish in a three way tie for first in the conference with Duke and Miami.
The Cavaliers fell behind early, as they had their 14-match doubles point win streak snapped. The Blue Devils (17-6, 9-2) took the early advantage as Ludovic Walter and Ned Samuelson topped Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) and Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) 8-6 at No. 3 doubles. The Cavaliers drew even as No. 27 ranked Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) downed No. 50 ranked Joey Atas and Jonathan Stokke 8-6 at No. 1 doubles. With the opening point on the line, Stephen Amritraj and Peter Rodrigues defeated Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) 8-6 at the No. 2 position.
In singles, the Cavaliers came out strong, winning five of the six first sets. Huey evened the score at 1-1 as he completed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Atas at No. 4 singles. Virginia took its first lead at 2-1 as No. 67 ranked Rizza defeated No. 4 ranked Walter, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 position. At No. 5 singles, Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) fought off five set points against him in his opening set against Amritraj before capturing the first set 7-6. In the second set, Miklo cruised to a 6-1 win to increase the Cavalier lead to 3-1. No. 9 ranked Devvarman clinched the win for Virginia as he rallied from dropping the first set to top No. 37 ranked Stokke 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Seconds later, Stewart made the score 5-1 as he completed a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Rodrigues at No. 3 singles, handing him just his second dual match loss of the year. In the final match on the courts, Cohen chose to retire his match in the third set against Kiril Dimitrov at No. 6 singles.
“I could not be more pleased with the team’s response to a tough loss on Friday,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I am really proud of their effort and this should give us some momentum heading into the ACC Tournament.”
The 2006 ACC Tournament bracket will be announced Monday. Play at the tournament begins Thursday at the Cary Tennis Center and will run through Sunday.
No. 11 Virginia 5, No. 6 Duke 2
Doubles:
1) #27 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. #50 Atas/Stokke (Duke) 8-6
2) #57 Amritraj/Rodrigues (Duke) def. Huey/Devvarman (UVa) 8-6
3. Walter/Samuelson (Duke) def. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) 8-6
Singles:
1. #67 Rylan Rizza (UVa) def. #4 Ludovic Walter (Duke) 6-3, 6-2
2. #9 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) def. #37 Jonathan Stokke (Duke) 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
3. #91 Doug Stewart (UVa) def. #70 Peter Rodrigues (Duke) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
4. #53 Treat Huey (UVa) def. Joey Atas (Duke) 6-4, 6-3
5. Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Stephen Amritraj (Duke) 7-6, 6-1
6. #111 Kiril Dimitrov (Duke) def. Darrin Cohen (UVa) 3-6, 7-6, 3-0 ret.