Men's Tennis Remains Unbeaten with 6-1 Win Over Kentucky
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CHARLOTTESVILLE The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team remained undefeated (7-0) with a 6-1 win over No. 31 Kentucky Friday night before a season-high crowd of 654 at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers swept the doubles matches before taking five of six singles contests in the win.
“I was really pleased with our fan support tonight,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I strongly believe it gave us that extra boost we needed tonight and our fans once again made this the best atmosphere in college tennis.”
Virginia took the doubles point by sweeping all three matches. Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) topped Graeme Dyce and Eric Quigley 8-2 at No. 2 doubles. In a battle of highly ranked foes at No. 1 doubles, third-ranked Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) defeated No. 13 Brad Cox and Bruno Agostinelli 8-5 to clinch the opening point. Lee Singer (Laguna, Niguel, Calif.) and Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) completed the sweep with their 8-5 win at No. 3 over Will Beck and Alex Lambropoulos.
In singles, the Cavaliers extended their lead to 2-0 as No. 11 Shabaz downed No. 37 Quigley 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3 singles. The Wildcats cut the lead in half as Alex Musialek defeated Steven Eelkman Rooda (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. The Virginia lead was extended to 3-1 as Singh cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cox at No. 2 singles. The dual match was clinched by Courtney at No. 6 singles with his 7-5, 6-3 win over Alberto Gonzalez. Barrick rebounded from losing the first set 7-5 to win 12 of the last 13 games in posting a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 win over Dyce at No. 4 singles. In the final match to finish, No. 43 Inglot posted his fifth consecutive win over a top-25 opponent with his 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 win over No. 4 Agostinelli at the top position.
“We continue to develop and improve each match,” said Boland. “We are just trying to take the season one day at a time and get a little bit better each day. We look forward to Sunday when we open ACC play against a strong Maryland team.”
The Cavaliers conclude their seven-match homestand on Sunday as they host No. 74 Maryland in their ACC opener. Match time is 2 p.m.
No. 5 Virginia 6, No. 31 Kentucky 1
Doubles
1. #3 Singh/Barrick (UVa) def. #13 Cox/Agostinelli (UK) 8-5
2. #27 Inglot/Shabaz (UVa) def. Dyce/Quigley (UK) 8-2
3. Courtney/Singer (UVa) def. Beck/Lambropoulos (UK) 8-5
Singles
1. #43 Dominic Inglot (UVa) def. #4 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) 3-6, 6-4, 10-8
2. #24 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. Brad Cox (UK) 6-1, 6-2
3. #11 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. #37 Eric Quigley (UK) 6-3, 6-3
4. #68 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Graeme Dyce (UK) 5-7, 6-0, 6-1
5. Alex Musialek (UK) def. Steven Eelkman Rooda (UVa) 6-2, 6-3
6. #108 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,1,3
Singles: 3,5,2,6,4,1
Attendance: 654