Men's Tennis Blanks Louisville 5-0 to Advance to ITA Indoors

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Box Score Jan. 24, 2015

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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The third-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the 2015 ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a 5-0 victory over No. 43 Louisville Saturday night in an ITA Kickoff Weekend match at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers (2-0) advance to National Team Indoors for the 11th consecutive year, while the Cardinals fall to 2-2 on the season.

“Overall, I was pleased with how the team played,” said head coach Brian Boland. “We came out with a lot of energy in doubles and carried that through the evening. I thought we executed much better tonight after we got some of those first-match jitters out of the way last night. Everybody stepped up tonight and did a good job. I like where we are right now and look forward to two more matches tomorrow.”

The Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) and Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) gave Virginia the early edge with a 6-1 win at No. 1 over Chris Simich and Albert Wagner. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) clinched the opening point with a 6-4 win at No. 2 over Sebastian Stiefelmeyer and Van Domrongsri.

In singles, the Cavaliers didn’t drop a set en route to closing out the victory. Shane wasted little time extending the advantage to 2-0 as he posted a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 over Wagner. Three other matches finished within seconds of each other to make the final margin 5-0. Kwiatkowski defeated Michael Lippens 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3 singles. At No. 5, Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) posted his first collegiate singles win, downing Domrongsri 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5. That victory was quickly followed by J.C. Aragone’s (Yorba Linda, Calif.) 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Luiz Elizondo. The final two matches were abandoned, including the contest at No. 1 where Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.) was up a set on top-ranked Stiefelmeyer.

Virginia will travel to Chicago for this year’s ITA National Team Indoors, which will run Feb. 13-16. The Cavaliers have won the title five of the last seven seasons. The win over Louisville, in it s first season in the conference, also extended Virginia’s ACC record conference win streak (regular season and postseason) to 123 matches.

The Cavaliers conclude their four-match homestand Sunday with a doubleheader at the Boyd Tinsley Courts. Virginia hosts Liberty at noon and Morgan State at 5 p.m. Admission is free.

#3 VIRGINIA 5, #43 LOUISVILLE 0

Doubles:
1. #14 Corinteli/Shane (UVa) def. Simich/Wagner (UL) 6-1
2. #37 Kwiatkowski/Styslinger (UVa) def. Stiefelmeyer/Damrongsri (UL) 6-4
3. Frank/Altamirano (UVa) vs. Brown/Gornet (UL) 5-5 DNF
Order of Finish: 1,2

Singles:
1. Mitchell Frank (UVa) led #1 Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (UL) 6-4, 2-3 DNF
2. #6 Ryan Shane (UVa) def. #59 Albert Wagner (UL) 6-0, 6-0
3. #4 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Michael Lippens (UL) 6-1, 6-4
4. Collin Altamirano (UVa) led Alex Gornet (UL) 7-5, 0-1 DNF
5. Alexander Ritschard (UVa) def. Van Domrongsri (UL) 6-2, 6-1
6. J.C. Aragone (UVa) def. Luiz Elizondo (UL) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,3,5,6