Top-Seeded Cavaliers Down Florida State to Reach ACC Semifinals
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Box Score April 24, 2015
CARY, N.C. – The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team began its quest for a ninth consecutive ACC Championship with a 4-1 victory over No. 33 Florida State in a quarterfinal match Friday at the Cary Tennis Park. The Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals for the 12th consecutive year and will play No. 16 North Carolina on Saturday.
The win extended Virginia’s win streak against conference opponents (regular season and tournaments) to 137 consecutive matches, the longest streak in ACC history in any sport. It was also the Cavaliers’ 25th consecutive win in the ACC Tournament
“This match was exactly what we needed in the first round of the tournament,” said head coach Brian Boland. “It is always tough to get through the first match of any tournament. Credit to Florida State, I thought they came out and played some great doubles. I was pleased with how we played in doubles, but they just played a little better. I thought we responded well in singles and played a good match from top to bottom.”
Florida State opened the match by winning the doubles point, snapping Virginia’s 14-match doubles point streak. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) gave the Cavaliers an early edge by winning 8-6 at No. 2 over Jose Gracia and Cristian Gonzalez Mendez. The Seminoles drew even as Terrence and Terrell Whitehurst downed Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) and Micthell Frank (Annandale, Va.) 8-6 at No. 3. The opening point came down to the match at No. 1, where Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez edged Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) and Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) in a tiebreaker, 8-7(6).
The Cavaliers responded by winning all six first sets in singles to gain control of the match. J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) tied the match at 1-1 as he completed a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Terrell Whitehurst. Virginia grabbed the lead as Kwiatkowski completed a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 4 over Gonzalez Mendez. Shane followed with his 6-3, 6-3 win at the top position over Lock to make the Cavalier lead to 3-1. Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) clinched the win as he downed Gracia 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 singles.
Virginia’s semifinal match against North Carolina will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Cary Tennis Park. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
#5 VIRGINIA 4, #33 FLORIDA STATE 1
Doubles:
1. #22 Lock/Nunez (FSU) def. #2 Corinteli/Shane (UVa) 8-7(6)
2. #63 Styslinger/Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Gracia/Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) 8-6
3. Whitehurst/Whitehurst (FSU) def. Altamirano/Frank (UVa) 8-6
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
Singles:
1. #7 Ryan Shane (UVa) def. #44 Benjamin Lock (FSU) 6-3, 6-3
2. #21 Mitchell Frank (UVa) vs. #108 Michael Rinaldi (FSU) 7-5, 0-1 DNF
3. #93 Collin Altamirano (UVa) vs. Marco Nunez (FSU) 6-4, 2-5 DNF
4. #18 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVa) def. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Alexander Ritschard (UVa) def. Jose Gracia (FSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. J.C. Aragone (UVa) def. Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6,4,1,5