Cavaliers Blank Duke 4-0 in NCAA Round of 16
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ATHENS, Ga. – The top-seeded Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive year with a 4-0 win over No. 16 Duke Friday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (38-1) will meet either Stanford or UCLA in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
“I thought we picked up where we left off in the regional last week against Wake Forest,” said head coach Brian Boland. “I feel like we are getting better and better each day. We played a very complete match today. I still think we can take it to another level, but I was impressed with our level of performance from top to bottom.”
Virginia took a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point from the Blue Devils (20-9). Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) cruised to an 8-3 win over Alain Michel and Torsten Wietoska at No. 3 doubles. At No. 2, Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) clinched the opening point for the Cavaliers with an 8-6 win over Dylan Arnould and David Holland, breaking Holland’s serve at 6-6 for the only break of the match.
“With our depth, it is hard to beat us when we get the doubles point,” said Boland. “With that being said, you still need to come out and fight for every point. It is hard to believe a match is over just because one team wins the doubles point. It is certainly something that gives us a boost and is something we take pride in.”
In singles, it was evident quickly that this match wouldn’t be as close as the first two meetings between the teams, a 4-3 Virginia win in Durham in the regular season and a 4-2 Cavalier victory in the ACC Tournament final. The Cavaliers won all six first sets and three matches ended quickly to send Virginia into the quarterfinals.
At No. 4, Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) doubled the Cavalier lead with his 6-3, 6-2 win over Wietoska. It was Courtney’s 40th singles win of the season, joining Somdev Devvarman, Singh and Brian Vahaly as the only Cavaliers to accomplish the feat. Jenkins made the score 3-0 as he completed a 6-1, 6-2 win over Arnould at No. 3. Barrick closed out the victory with his 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 5 over Jared Pinsky.
“Today was a great start to the tournament for us,” said Barrick. “We need to go out and have a good practice tomorrow and get ready for Sunday. It is only one match and we need to focus on the next one.”
Virginia’s quarterfinal match with either the Cardinal or Bruins will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Center.
No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 16 Duke 0
Doubles:
1. #14 ShabazCourtney (UVa) led #1 Cunha/Carleton (Duke) 8-8 (5-3) DNF
2. #41 Barrick/Singh (UVa) def. Arnould/Holland (Duke) 8-6
3. Singer/Jenkins (UVa) def. Wietoska/Michel (Duke) 8-3
Singles:
1. #11 Michael Shabaz (UVa) vs. #2 Henrique Cunha (Duke) 6-1, 5-7 DNF
2. #14 Sanam Singh (UVa) led #64 Reid Carleton (Duke) 7-6(4), 3-2 DNF
3. #57 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. #101 Dylan Arnould (Duke) 6-1, 6-2
4. #46 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Torsten Wietoska (Duke) 6-3, 6-2
5. #106 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Jared Pinsky (Duke) 6-4, 6-2
6. Julen Uriguen (UVa) led Luke Marchese (Duke) 7-6(3), 2-1 DNF
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,2
Singles: 4,3,5