Cavalier Men's Tennis Falls at No. 5 Baylor 5-2
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Box Score March 1, 2015
WACO, Texas – The No. 11 Virginia men’s tennis team suffered its second loss of the season to Baylor, falling to the fifth-ranked Bears 5-2 Sunday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (7-2) got singles wins from Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) and Mitchell Frank (Annandale, Va.), but their comeback bid fell short.
“We have two losses this year and both have come at the hands of Baylor,” said head coach Brian Boland. “They were the better team today but I am so pleased with our process. What a tremendous group of guys, doing things the right way. We continue to get better as this group of guys really understands and accepts the process. Dustin Taylor, Scott Brown and the rest of the staff are doing a great job with this group. The best is in front of us and we continue to get better with each day. We didn’t play two starters today and that was a choice I made.”
Virginia played Sunday’s match without two starters, top-ranked Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.), and Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland), due to a coach’s decision.
Both of Virginia’s losses this season have come to Baylor. The Bears defeated the Cavaliers 4-3 on Feb. 14 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago.
Just like the match two weeks earlier, the Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. Vince Schneider and Felipe Rios downed Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) and Jonathan Cornish (London, England) 6-1 at No. 3 to give Baylor the early edge. Virginia drew even with a victory at No. 1 where Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) and Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) topped Mate Zsiga and Tony Lupieri 6-3. Baylor clinched the opening point at No. 2 as Julian Lenz and Diego Galeano topped Frank and Altamirano 6-3.
Baylor continued its momentum into singles, winning five of the six first sets. The Bears doubled their lead as Zsiga downed J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 5 position. The Cavaliers got on the scoreboard with a win at No. 3 where Altamirano topped Max Tchoutakian 6-2, 6-2. Baylor increased the advantage to 3-1 as Rios defeated Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6 singles.
At No. 2, Frank rallied for a three-set win over Lupieri, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to bring the Cavaliers to within a point. Lenz clinched the match with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Shane at the No. 1 position. The match concluded with Schneider edging Styslinger 7-6(6), 6-4 at No. 4 singles.
“I am really impressed with the maturity and competitiveness of every player on the team,” said Boland. “Each time we have played them it has been an absolute battle, and that is exactly what we need.”
Cavaliers return to action Friday as they open ACC play at No. 12 Wake Forest. Match time in Winston-Salem is 4 p.m.
#5 BAYLOR 5, #11 VIRGINIA 2
Doubles:
1. #55 Corinteli/Shane (UVa) def. #56 Zsiga/Lupieri (BU) 6-3
2. Lenz/Galeano (BU) def. Altamirano/Frank (UVa) 6-3
3. Schneider/Rios (BU) def. Styslinger/Cornish (UVa) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Singles:
1. #11 Julian Lenz (BU) def. #2 Ryan Shane (UVa) 6-4, 7-5
2. #59 Mitchell Frank (UVa) def. #23 Tony Lupieri (BU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
3. Collin Altamirano (UVa) def. #40 Max Tchoutakian (BU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Vince Schneider (BU) def. #91 Mac Styslinger (UVa) 7-6(6), 6-4
5. Mate Zsiga (BU) def. J.C. Aragone (UVa) 6-0, 6-2
6. Felipe Rios (BU) def. Henrik Wiersholm (UVa) 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5,3,6,2,1,4