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No. 1 Cavaliers Blank No. 11 California to Reach NTI Semifinals
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Feb. 15, 2014
HOUSTON – The top-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the 2014 ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a 4-0 victory over No. 11 California Saturday at the Downtown Club at the Met. The Cavaliers needed just one hour and 38 minutes to dispatch of the Bears and set up a semifinal showdown with Ohio State.
The Cavaliers (6-0) are making their eighth consecutive appearance in the ITA National Team Indoor semifinals, the longest active streak at the tournament, and will meet the Buckeyes in the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season. The match will begin at noon CT at the Downtown Club at the Met.
“I thought we settled in today and played much better than yesterday,” said head coach Brian Boland. “That first match is always tough. I thought the guys came out and really looked comfortable on the court today. They completed well from top to bottom. I feel really good about where we are and I am looking forward to facing an excellent Ohio State team tomorrow.”
The Cavaliers took an early lead by winning the doubles point. For the second straight match Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) won the first match off the courts, downing Filip Bergevi and Campbell Johnson 6-2 at No. 3 doubles. At the No. 1 position, Alex Domijan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Justin Shane (Falls Church, Va.) topped Ben McLachlan and Andre Goransson 6-3 to clinch the opening point for Virginia.
“We have had a lot of doubles success over the years,” said Boland. “With this format, you know it is going to be close. Yesterday we did a good job or rebounding early in singles from dropping the doubles point. Today, we did a good job of using the momentum of winning the doubles into the start of singles.”
Virginia started singles play strong, winning all six first sets. Kwiatkowski quickly doubled the Cavalier advantage as he posted a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 5 over Gregory Bayane. Domijan extended the lead to 3-0 with his 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 over Johnson. With the victory Domijan improved to 12-1 all-time in singles matches at the ITA National Team Indoors. Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) closed out a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles over Bergevi to clinch the Virginia victory.
Virginia tied a school record with its 36th consecutive win, matching the 36-match win streak by the 2010 Cavaliers. It is also the nation’s longest active win streak.
#1 VIRGINIA 4, #11 CALIFORNIA 0
Doubles:
1. Domijan/J.Shane (UVa) def. McLachlan/Goransson (Cal) 6-3
2. Frank/Corinteli (UVa) vs. Bayane/Melton (Cal) 4-4 DNF
3. Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Bergevi/Johnson (Cal) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,1
Singles:
1. #3 Mitchell Frank (UVa) led #62 Ben McLachlan (Cal) 6-3, 5-1 DNF
2. Alex Domijan (UVa) def. #68 Campbell Johnson (Cal) 6-1, 6-3
3. Ryan Shane (UVa) def. Filip Bergevi (Cal) 6-0, 6-2
4. Justin Shane (UVa) led #118 Andre Goransson (Cal) 6-4, 4-1 DNF
5. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Gregory Bayane (Cal) 6-0, 6-1
6. #62 Jordan Daigle (UVa) led Mads Engsted (Cal) 6-3, 3-2 DNF
Order of Finish: 5,2,3