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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The top-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team clinched their unprecedented eighth consecutive ACC regular season crown Friday with a 6-1 win over No. 62 Clemson at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (25-0, 10-0 ACC) extended their ACC-record win streak to 73 consecutive victories over conference competition and their school-record home winning streak to 86 matches. The Tigers fell to 15-10 overall and 2-8 in the ACC.

The Cavaliers opened the match strong, sweeping all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Justin Shane (Falls Church, Va.) teamed at No. 1 to down Zachary Rigsby and Yanick Maden 8-3. Julen Uriguen (Guatemala City, Guatemala) and Santiago Villegas (Bogota, Colombia) posted an 8-4 win at No. 3 over Kevin Galloway and Moritz Dettinger. Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) and Steven Rooda (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) completed the sweep with an 8-5 win over Derek DiFazio and Robert Pietrucha at No. 2.

In singles, the Cavaliers doubled their lead as Uriguen topped Rigsby 6-2, 7-5 at No. 5. Villegas added a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Cal Hilsman before Shabaz clinched the win with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 1 over DiFazio. Shane’s 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 5 over Gerardo Meza made the score 5-0 before Clemson got their only point at No. 3, where Galloway edged Singh in a third-set match tiebreaker. Jenkins closed out the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Maden at No. 2.

“Overall I felt like we played well,” said head coach Brian Boland. “We had to mix up the lineup a little bit again today but some guys stepped up for us. We are going through some adversity that we have never gone through before, but I think that is good. The scores are the same as previous years, but there have been some bigger challenges. Things aren’t comfortable for this team and I think that will only help us in the long run by forcing us to improve and play at a higher level.”

Virginia becomes the first ACC men’s tennis program to win at least a share of the regular season title in eight consecutive years (2004-11). The previous record was seven consecutive titles by Duke from 1997-2003.

The Cavaliers conclude the regular season on Saturday as they host No. 15 Georgia Tech. Match time is 2 p.m. and the match will be played indoors at the Boar’s Head Sports Club due to the forecast of inclement weather. Admission is free.

#1 Virginia 6, #62 Clemson 1

Doubles
1. Shabaz/Shane (UVa) def. Rigsby/Y.Maden (CU) 8-3
2. Jenkins/Rooda (UVa) def. DiFazio/Pietrucha (CU) 8-5
3. Uriguen/Villegas (UVa) def. Dettinger/Galloway (CU) 8-4

Singles
1. #8 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. Derek DiFazio (CU) 6-1, 7-5
2. #50 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. Yannick Maden (CU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Kevin Galloway (CU) def. #32 Sanam Singh (UVa) 6-3, 4-6, 12-10
4. Justin Shane (UVa) def. Gerardo Meza (CU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Julen Uriguen (UVa) def. Zachary Rigsby (CU) 6-2, 7-5
6. Santiago Villegas (UVa) def. Cal Hilsman (CU) 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish
Doubles: 1,3,2
Singles: 5,6,1,4,3,2

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