No. 3 Cavaliers Open Road Trip with 9-1 Win at VCU

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Box Score Feb. 7, 2015

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RICHMOND, Va. – The third-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team began a six-week road span Saturday with a 9-1 victory over No. 59 VCU at the Thalhimer Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (5-0) won eight of nine singles matches and swept all four doubles matches to secure the win in the extended-format match.

“VCU is a great team and I really enjoyed coaching against former Cavalier great Houston Barrick (now a VCU assistant coach),” said head coach Brian Boland. “Houston is one of the classiest and best young coaches in the country and VCU is so fortunate to have him. I was particularly impressed with how hard J.C. Aragone competed when he did not feel great today. I admire how he competes regardless of the circumstances. I am grateful to the players like J.C. who come ready to play and always respect their opponents. We have a lot of work to do but each day is another opportunity to get better.”

Singles was played first in the match and the Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead as Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.) downed Joseph Cohen 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. VCU drew even with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win at No. 4 by Catalin Fifea over J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.). Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) put UVa in front again with a 6-2, 7-6(4) win at No. 3 over Wilmer Pimentel before Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) posted a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win at No. 1 over Michal Voscek to increase the Cavalier advantage to 3-1.

As the second round of singles took to the four courts, Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) extended the advantage to 4-1 with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 5 over Antonio Batlle Rodriguez. Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) followed with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 7 over Jacob Svensson and Jonathan Cornish (London England) added a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 9 singles over Matthew Kritzinger to make the score 6-1. Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) defeated Louis Isizaka 6-1, 7-6 at No. 8 singles and Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) topped Marcos Rocca 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 to conclude singles play with an 8-1 advantage for the Cavaliers.

The match concluded with doubles as the Cavaliers won all four contests to secure the doubles point. Corinteli and Shane won at No. 2 doubles, followed by a tiebreaker win at No. 1 by Styslinger and Kwiatkowski. Aragone and Ritschard won at No. 3, followed by a win at No. 4 by Frank and Cornish to complete the sweep.

The Cavaliers will travel to Chicago next week for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, held Feb. 13-16. Virginia has won the tournament five of the past seven years.

#3 VIRGINIA 9, #59 VCU 1

Singles:
1. #6 Ryan Shane (UVa) def. Michal Voscek (VCU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
2. Mitchell Frank (UVa) def. Joseph Cohen (VCU) 6-0, 6-2
3. #4 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Wilder Pimentel (VCU) 6-2, 7-6(4)
4. Catalin Fifea (VCU) def. J.C. Aragone (UVa) 7-6(5), 6-4
5. Alexander Ritschard (UVa) def. Antonio Batlle Rodriguez (VCU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Henrik Wiersholm (UVa) def. Marcos Rocca (VCU) 6-2, 6-3
7. #47 Mac Styslinger (UVa) def. Jacob Svensson (VCU) 6-0, 6-2
8. Luca Corinteli (UVa) def. Louis Ishizaka (VCU) 6-1, 7-6
9. Jonathan Cornish (UVa) def. Matthew Kritzinger (VCU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,4,3,1,5,7,9,8,6

Doubles:
1. #37 Kwiatkowski/Styslinger (UVa) def. Voscek/Cohen (VCU) 7-6(2)
2. #14 Corinteli/Shane (UVa) def. Fifea/Pimentel (VCU) 6-1
3. Aragone/Ritschard (UVa) def. Ishizaka/Batlle Rodriguez (VCU) 6-3
4. Frank/Cornish (UVa) def. Svensson/Kritzinger (VCU) 6-3
Order of Finish: 2,1,3,4