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CARY, N.C. The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to its sixth consecutive ACC Tournament final with a 4-0 win over Florida State in a semifinal matchup Saturday at the Cary Tennis Park. The Cavaliers improved to 28-0 this season with the victory and will look for their third consecutive title and fifth in the past six years on Sunday.
“This was just a great match,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “A lot of credit to Florida State on playing a terrific match. Our guys showed once again how well they play in tough situations and continue to battle through an entire match. I thought we played better today than we did yesterday, but we also know that we need to be able to play better tomorrow.”
The Cavaliers took the 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. The Seminoles (19-8) took an early advantage as Drew Bailey and Maciek Sykut upset fourth-ranked Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) at No. 2 doubles. Virginia drew even at the No. 1 position, where Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) downed Jean-Yves Aubone and Vahid Mirzadeh 8-5. With the opening point on the line, the Cavalier duo of Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) topped Chris Cloer and Clint Bowles 8-5 at No. 3 doubles.
“The guys battled well in doubles,” said Boland. “We struggled at No. 2, which is unusual for Houston and Sanam. But a sign of a good team is that others step up, and that’s what happened today.”
Florida State responded strong in singles, winning four of the six first sets. But the Cavaliers answered by winning five of the six second sets to retake momentum of the match. Singh made the score 2-0 as he rallied from a 6-1, 2-0 hole to defeat Bowles 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. The lead was extended to 3-0 as Inglot topped Aubone, the 2009 ACC Player of the Year, 7-6(1), 7-6(7) at the top position. Barrick clinched the match for Virginia with his 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Mirzadeh at No. 4 singles. In the three matches that were abandoned, the Cavaliers were leading in the third set.
“I never doubted that this team would find a way to battle back,” said Boland. “These guys have shown so much resilience and perseverance all year long. They are tough. They stay composed in tough situations and I knew that they would get the job done today.”
The Cavaliers will meet Wake Forest in Sunday’s final at 11 a.m. The Demon Deacons topped Miami 4-2 in the other semifinal on Saturday.
No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 16 Florida State 0
Doubles
1. #13 Inglot/Shabaz (UVa) def. #20 Aubone/Mirzadeh (FSU) 8-5
2. Bailey/Sykut (FSU) def. #4 Barrick/Singh (UVa) 8-3
3. Singer/Courtney (UVa) def. Bowles/Cloer (FSU) 8-5
Singles
1. #17 Dominic Inglot (UVa) def. #16 Jean-Yves Aubone (FSU) 7-6(1), 7-6(7)
2. #27 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. #51 Clint Bowles (FSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. #25 Michael Shabaz (UVa) led Maciek Sykut (FSU) 4-6, 6-3, 4-3 DNF
4. #83 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Vahid Mirzadeh (FSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5. Drew Courtney (UVa) led Drew Bailey (FSU) 6-7(6), 6-2, 4-2 DNF
6. #87 Lee Singer (UVa) led Chris Cloer (FSU) 2-6, 6-0, 5-4 DNF
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,1,3
Singles: 2,1,4