/
.
Cavaliers Victorious on Day Two of NCAA Individual Championships
Story Links
ATHENS, Ga. – The Virginia men’s tennis team went undefeated on the second day of play at the NCAA Individual Championships Thursday at the Dan Magill Tennis Center. Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.) and Alex Domijan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) reached the singles round of 16, while the team of Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) and Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) won in the first round of doubles.
Frank, the No. 2 seed in singles, advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 second round win over No. 25 Ray Sarmiento of USC. Domijan, ranked No. 39 nationally, downed No. 56 George Coupland of Mississippi State 6-3, 6-2 in his second round match. Courtney and Jenkins, a 5-8 seed in the doubles draw, opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 31 Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim of Nebraska.
In Domijan’s match, he fell behind early after being broken in first game, but rebounded to win the next four. Both players held serve the rest of the way as Domijan took the first set 6-3. In the second set, after Coupland held serve in a six-deuce game, Domijan rolled off five straight games to take a 5-1 lead. He later served out his 6-3, 6-2 win. He will play No. 15 Alex Musialek of Kentucky in the round of 16 on Friday.
“I thought I played focused today after a big win yesterday,” said Domijan. “Coupland serves big, but I did a good job of neutralizing that. It will be a fun match tomorrow against Musialek. He plays with a lot of emotion and makes a lot of balls.”
Frank faced Sarmiento, who had defeated Domijan at No. 2 singles in the NCAA team championship match on Tuesday. Sarmiento went up a break early and led 4-2 in the first set. Frank responded by winning the next four games to take the first set 6-4. In the second set, the players traded holds in the first two games before Frank won the final five games to complete the 6-4, 6-1 win. He will play No. 11 Wil Spencer of Georgia in the round of 16.
“After the first few games I started to return better and make more balls,” said Frank. “I tried to play with a little more energy. Ray has been playing really well lately and been playing aggressive, so I just tried to keep him pinned back. I was able to do that and it made the difference.”
Courtney and Jenkins had their first round opponent change from Wisconsin’s Fredrik Ask and Billy Bertha, who pulled out due to injury, to Aumueller and Lindheim, who were on the alternate list. After the teams traded holds in the first two games, Jenkins and Courtney won the next five games to take the first set. The second set remained on serve until 3-3, when the Cavalier team broke Aumueller’s serve for a 4-3 lead. They held serve the rest of the way to close out the 6-1, 6-4 win. They will meet No. 63 Antoine Baroz and Alexis Heugas of VCU in the second round.
“We felt good and served well today,” said Courtney. “Any time you can get an early break, it lets you settle into the match. The Nebraska guys played well and it was a good match. If Jarmere and I continue to serve well, we feel good about our chances.”