No. 7 Cavaliers Upset No. 6 North Carolina 7-0

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March 21, 2014

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The seventh-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team recorded its highest ranked road win of the season, blanking No. 6 North Carolina 7-0 Friday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Cavaliers improve to 11-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference with the win, while snapping the Tar Heels’ (15-3, 2-1 ACC) four-match win streak.

“We have had a couple of weeks since we last played, so we had a chance to prepare and acclimate to playing outdoors,” said head coach Brian Boland. “Although we haven’t had that luxury a lot this season, the guys have done a great job of being ready to play each match. I thought that preparation showed today as we defeated a very good UNC team.”

The Cavaliers mixed up their doubles teams and the move paid off as they won the opening point. Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.) and Alex Domijan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) topped Oystein Steiro and Nelson Vick 8-5 at the No. 2 position. The Tar Heels drew even with a win at No. 1 where Brett Clark and Brayden Schnur downed Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) and Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) 8-4. The opening point came down to a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles where Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Justin Shane (Falls Church, Va.) edged Ronnie Schneider and Jack Murray 8-7(4) to give Virginia a 1-0 lead in the match.

Virginia carried its momentum into singles, winning five of the six first sets to take control of the match. The Cavaliers won four of those matches in straight sets to clinch the victory. Domijan posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 over Schnur, followed by Kwiatkowski’s 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 4 over Esben Hess-Olesen. Frank downed Schneider 7-5, 6-1 at No. 1 and J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) added a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 6 over Murray to make the score 5-0.

The Cavaliers won both matches that went three sets to complete the shutout with both Shane brothers notching wins. Justin Shane topped Steiro 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 5 and Ryan Shane rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 over Clark.

Virginia extended its win streak against ACC competition (regular season and postseason) to 110 matches with the victory.

The Cavaliers conclude their road trip Sunday with a visit to No. 13 Duke. Match time in Durham is 3 p.m. and the match will be broadcast online by ESPN3.

#7 VIRGINIA 7, #6 NORTH CAROLINA 0

Doubles:
1. Clark/Schnur (UNC) def. #60 Corinteli/Styslinger (UVa) 8-4
2. Frank/Domijan (UVa) def. Steiro/Vick (UNC) 8-5
3. J.Shane/Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. #67 Murray/Schneider (UNC) 8-7(4)
Order of Finish: 2,1,3

Singles:
1. #6 Mitchell Frank (UVa) def. #32 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 7-5, 6-1
2. #33 Alex Domijan (UVa) def. #18 Brayden Schnur (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
3. #45 Ryan Shane (UVa) vs. #51 Brett Clark (UNC) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
4. #123 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
5. Justin Shane (UVa) def. Oystein Steiro (UNC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. J.C. Aragone (UVa) def. Jack Murray (UNC) 7-5, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,4,1,6,5,3