Cavaliers Win ACC Championship With 4-0 Win Over Miami
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ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. Top-ranked Virginia won its fourth ACC Championship in the past five years with a 4-0 win over Miami Sunday afternoon in the 2008 ACC Tournament final at Sanlando Park. The Cavaliers needed just two-and-a-half hours to win title and post their second consecutive undefeated run through the ACC regular season and postseason.
“I am really proud of these guys,” said head coach Brian Boland. “This is the best conference in the country and to win another ACC Championship is a great accomplishment. We have so much respect for the teams in the ACC and to go undefeated through this league again is something we are proud of. This week gave us a lot of momentum reading into the NCAA Tournament next month.”
The Cavaliers (28-0) opened the match strong by winning the doubles point. At No. 2 doubles, Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) climbed out of an early 5-2 hole by winning six consecutive games for an 8-5 win over Vivek Subramanian and David Rosenfeld. Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) clinched the opening point with an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles over Hector Nieto and Keith Crowley.
Virginia carried the momentum from doubles into singles and won three quick matches to clinch the championship. Huey, the tournament’s MVP, once again was first off the courts, topping Subramanian 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Shabaz brought the Cavaliers within a point of victory as he completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over Crowley at No. 5 singles. Several minutes later on the next court over, Angelinos clinched the title as he downed Barnabas Carrega 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 singles.
“This team shares all the credit,” said Huey. “Everyone did a great job. Having played all of these teams in the regular season, we knew if we were really focused and played at our level that good things would happen. We continue to get better with each match and that showed this weekend.”
With the victory, Virginia extended its school record winning streak to 28 matches overall and 31 straight against ACC opponents (regular season and posteseason). The Cavaliers also improve to 14-1 at the ACC Tournament since 2004, winning the championship in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
“I want to thank all of the Cavalier fans that were here supporting us this week,” said Boland. “It is really a lift to have that kind of support. Whether it was the Florida Hoos coming out for the matches or the many people who made the long trip from Charlottesville, it was certainly appreciated.”
Virginia will be the ACC’s automatic bid for next month’s NCAA Championship. The field of 64 will be announced on April 29.
No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 25 Miami 0
Doubles:
1. #1 Devvarman/Huey (UVa) led #7 Vallverdu/Sundberg (UM) 7-5 DNF
2. Shabaz/Inglot (UVa) def. #49 Rosenfeld/Subramanian (UM) 8-5
3. #53 Angelinos/Singer (UVa) def. Nieto/Crowley (UM) 8-3
Singles:
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) led #3 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) 7-5, 0-0 DNF
2. #29 Treat Huey (UVa) def. Vivek Subramanian (UM) 6-2, 6-1
3. David Rosenfeld (UM) led #11 Dominic Inglot (UVa) 6-4, 3-3 DNF
4. Sanam Singh (UVa) led Carl Sundberg (UM) 6-2, 5-5 DNF
5. Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. Keith Crowley (UM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Ted Angelinos (UVa) def. Barnabas Carrega (UM) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles- 2,3 Singles- 2,5,6
Records: Virginia (28-0), Miami (16-7)