Cavaliers Post 100th Consecutive Win Over ACC Foes
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April 12, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The top-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team recorded a milestone win Friday at the Snyder Tennis Center, downing No. 25 Clemson 7-0 for the program’s 100th consecutive victory against ACC competition. The Cavaliers, who improved to 18-0 overall and 7-0 in the conference this season, haven’t lost to an ACC foe (regular season or postseason) since the 2006 ACC Tournament. The Tigers fell to 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the ACC with the loss.
“We are thrilled to get another ACC win and to reach the 100-win mark is a great milestone,” said head coach Brian Boland. “When I first came to the University of Virginia, I thought anything was possible, but I never dreamed that we could win 100 straight matches in this conference. It is a tribute to a lot of great players that have come through this program. It has been a great journey and hopefully it is only the beginning.”
The streak is the longest in ACC men’s tennis history and the second longest in conference history for all sports. The Duke women’s tennis team won 116 straight matches against ACC opponents from 1989 to 2000.
For the sixth consecutive match, Virginia took a 1-0 lead by sweeping all the doubles matches, Justin Shane (Falls Church, Va.) and Julen Uriguen (Guatemala City, Guatemala) gave the Cavaliers the edge with an 8-3 win at No. 3 over Hunter Harrington and Gerardo Meza. The other two matches went to a decisive tiebreaker as the Tigers threatened to become just the second team to win a doubles point this year against Virginia. Alex Domijan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.) clinched the point with a 9-8(4) win at No. 2 over Ayrton Wibowo and Zachary Rigsby. At No. 1, Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) and Mac Styslinger(Birmingham, Ala.) topped brothers Yannick and Dominique Maden 9-8(4) to complete the sweep.
In singles, the Cavaliers won all six first sets and took four of those matches in straight sets. Uriguen quickly doubled the UVa lead with his 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 6 over Austin Ansari. At No. 3, Frank won 10 straight games after trailing 3-2 in the first set for a 6-3, 6-0 win over Meza. Styslinger sealed the historic win for Virginia as he downed Rigsby 7-6(6), 6-4 at the No. 5 position.
“I think this accomplishment means a lot to the program,” said Styslinger. “To be able to clinch the 100th straight ACC victory is something very special to me. I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard, so I didn’t know I was the clinching point right away. As a first-year, I don’t think I can quite grasp how impressive this streak is, but I am proud to have contributed to it.”
Ryan Shane(Falls Church,Va.) topped Dominique Maden 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 4 and Jenkins followed with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory over Yannick Maden at No. 1. Domijan completed the shutout with his 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-3 win over Harrington at the No. 2 spot.
“We didn’t play our best, but give Clemson credit for playing at a high level today,” said Boland. “The guys made things a little tougher on themselves than it needed to be. It wasn’t always the prettiest tennis today, but I was happy with how we fought to win each match.”
Virginia will conclude its regular-season home schedule on Saturday when it hosts Georgia Tech Saturday at noon. Admission is free.
#1 VIRGINIA 7, #25 CLEMSON 0
Doubles:
1. #2 Jenkins/Styslinger (UVa) def. #22 Maden/Maden (CU) 9-8(4)
2. #13 Frank/Domijan (UVa) def. Rigsby/Wibowo (CU) 9-8(4)
3. #31 J.Shane/J.Uriguen (UVa) def. Harrington/Meza (CU) 8-3
Singles:
1. #2 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. #24 Yannick Maden (CU) 6-3, 7-6(6)
2. #1 Alex Domijan (UVa) def. Hunter Harrington (CU) 7-6(0), 5-7, 6-3
3. #37 Mitchell Frank (UVa) def. Gerardo Meza (CU) 6-3, 6-0
4. #49 Ryan Shane (UVa) def. Dominique Maden (CU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
5. #22 Mac Styslinger (UVa) def. Zachary Rigsby (CU) 7-6(6), 6-4
6. Julen Uriguen (UVa) df. Austin Ansari (CU) 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 3,2,1
Singles: 6,3,5,4,1,2