Cavalier Men's Tennis Defeats No. 5 Illinois 5-2

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Jan. 28, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 8 Virginia men’s tennis team won its first match against a top five opponent in two years, as it defeated No. 5 Illinois 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the Boyd Tinsley Courts. Virginia improves to 3-0 with the win, while the Illini fall to 2-1 on the season.

“For our young guys, this was a big victory, especially because it came against a very good Illinois team,” associate head coach Tony Bresky said. “Illinois has a great history in doubles and for us to come out and win the first point was very important for our momentum. Also, Lee Singer really stepped up and gave us a big win at the No. 6 position in his first collegiate singles match.”

Virginia lost a doubles match for the first time this season but still managed to gain the doubles point against the Illini. The team of Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) defeated Ryan Rowe and Brandon Davis, 8-4, at the No. 2 position to start off the day for the Cavaliers. At the No. 3 position, Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) downed GD Jones and Marc Spicijaric, 8-5, at the No. 3 position to clinch the opening point. Juniors Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) lost their first match of the spring to Illinois’ Kevin Anderson and Ruben Gonzales, 8-6 at the No. 1 doubles position.

In the singles matches, the Cavaliers quickly won the first three completed matches to seal the dual match win. Singer won his first collegiate singles dual match with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Davis that made the overall team score, 2-0. At No. 5 singles, Angelinos downed No. 83 Marc Spicijaric, 6-1, 6-3. At the No. 3 singles position, No. 10 Huey defeated Gonzales 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the overall team victory for the Cavaliers. No. 11 Rowe came back to defeat Inglot, 5-7, 6-3, 10-4 to put the Illini on the scoreboard at No. 2 singles. Jones made it two straight team points for the Illini when he beat Barrick, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. At No. 1 singles, Devvarman, down a set to Anderson, came back to win the second set and then, down 7-2 in the superbreaker, rallied to win 10-8.

“I am just really impressed with our performance,” said head coach Brian Boland. “Illinois is a great tennis program and we are extremely pleased with the result today. Our guys have shown signs of getting better with each match. And this upcoming week we are going to have two tough matches against VCU and Alabama.”

Virginia travels to Richmond to face No. 14 VCU on Friday, February 2, and then travels south to face Alabama on Sunday.

No. 8 Virginia 5, No. 5 Illinois 2

Doubles:
1. Anderson/Gonzales (Ill.) def. # 7 Devvarman/Huey (UVa) 8-6
2. Barrick/Inglot (UVa) def. Rowe/Davis (Ill.), 8-4
3. Angelinos/Singer (UVa) def. Jones/Spicijaric (Ill.), 8-5

Singles:
1. #8 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) def. #23 Kevin Anderson (Ill.), 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-8
2. #11 Ryan Rowe (Ill.) def. Dominic Inglot (UVa), 5-7, 6-3, 10-4
3. #10 Treat Huey (UVa) def. Ruben Gonzales (Ill.), 6-4, 6-2
4. GD Jones (Ill.) def. Houston Barrick (UVa.), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5. Ted Angelinos (UVa) def. #83 Marc Spicijaric (Ill,), 6-1, 6-3
6. Lee Singer (UVa) def. Brandon Davis (Ill.), 6-3, 6-0