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Men's Tennis Defeats Arkansas 7-0 ITA Indoor Opener
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CHARLOTTESVILLE The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team began the defense of its ITA National Team Indoor crown with a 7-0 victory over No. 45 Arkansas in a first round qualifying match Friday night at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers (5-0) will play No. 39 East Tennessee State in the second round on Saturday at 6 p.m. for a place in the 16-team field in Chicago next month.
Virginia opened the match by taking the doubles point. The team of Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) posted their second consecutive 8-0 victory by topping Tyler Tarnasky and Bradwin Williams at No. 2 doubles. Arkansas (0-1) drew even as Christopher Nott and Dmitry Lebedev defeated Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) 8-2 at No. 3 doubles, marking the Cavaliers’ first dual match doubles loss of the season. Seconds later the No. 3 ranked team of Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) clinched the opening point with their 8-4 win at No. 1 over 15th-ranked Blake Strode and Matt Hogan at No. 1 doubles.
In singles, the Cavaliers wasted little time doubling their lead as Courtney cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Nikolas Zogaj at No. 5 singles. Barrick made the score 3-0 with his 6-1, 6-4 win over Lebedev at No. 4 singles. Shabaz recorded the clinching point at No. 3 singles, defeating Nott 7-5, 6-3. Singer added a straight set win, 6-4, 6-2, over Tarnasky at No. 6 singles. At the No. 2 position, No. 24 Singh topped No. 39 Hogan in a third-set superbreaker, 6-2, 3-6, 10-3. Inglot completed the shutout by defeating his third consecutive top-25 opponent, with a 6-7, 7-6, 13-11 thriller over No. 15 Strode. Inglot rallied from down 8-4 in the superbreaker to capture the win at No. 1 singles.
“The final score was not indicative to what a battle this was,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “We were fortunate to come out on top on a couple of third-set breakers. Arkansas is a young and talented team and they competed hard with a lot of class tonight. I am proud of our guys and I think we are getting better each day. We look forward to taking on a tough East Tennessee State team tomorrow.”
No. 39 East Tennessee won its first round match 4-3 over No. 34 Wisconsin on Friday afternoon. The Cavaliers’ match with ETSU is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, with Arkansas and Wisconsin meeting in the consolation match at 2 p.m. Admission to both matches is free.
No. 5 Virginia 7, No. 45 Arkansas 0
Doubles
1. #3 Singh/Barrick (UVa) def. #14 Strode/Hogan (Ark) 8-4
2. #27 Inglot/Shabaz (UVa) def. Tarnasky/Williams (Ark) 8-0
3. Lebedev/Nott (Ark) def. Courtney/Singer (UVa) 8-2
Singles
1. #43 Dominic Inglot (UVa) def. #15 Blake Strode (Ark) 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 13-11
2. #24 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. #39 Matt Hogan (Ark) 6-2, 3-6, 10-3
3. #11 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. Christopher Nott (Ark) 7-5, 6-3
4. #68 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Dmitry Lebedev (Ark) 6-1, 6-4
5. #108 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Nikolas Zogaj (Ark) 6-1, 6-1
6. #109 Lee Singer (UVa) def. Tyler Tarnasky (Ark) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,3,1
Singles: 5,4,3,6,2,1
Attendance: 245
No. 39 East Tennessee State 4, No. 34 Wisconsin 3
Doubles
1. Michalicka/Baumann (Wis) def. Oliveras/Ahlgren (ETSU) 8-5
2. Bottoni/Teraz (ETSU) def. Rassow-Kantor/Muskievicz (Wis) 8-3
3. Akser/Isaza (ETSU) def. Dierberger/Pohlmann (Wis) 8-5
Singles
1. #9 Enrique Oliveras (ETSU) def. #36 Marek Michalicka (Wis) 7-6(8), 6-2
2. #117 Moritz Baumann (Wis) def. Charles Bottoni (ETSU) 7-5, 6-3
3. Luke Rassow-Kantor (Wis) def. Grega Teraz (ETSU) 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-8
4. Patrick Pohlmann (Wis) def. Alex Ahlgren (ETSU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Sander Gille (ETSU) def. Michael Dierbeger (Wis) 6-1, 6-4
6. Daniel Isaza (ETSU) def. Peter Marrack (Wis) 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,1,3
Singles: 4,2,5,1,6,3