Virginia Sweeps Season-Opening Matches
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Box Score Jan. 31, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team opened the 2016 season by sweeping a pair of matches at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Center on Sunday (Jan. 31). Virginia (2-0) downed No. 51 Kentucky 6-1 and closed out the day with a 7-0 victory against Eastern Kentucky (0-6).
“I thought it was a great start to our dual match season,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I believe the guys were well-prepared in terms of the way that they trained as well as attending to the details we needed to the last few weeks. Kentucky was a phenomenal team and is going to have a great season. I thought we played really well against Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky was a good match for us. It was nice to get in a doubleheader where everyone had a chance to get in some matches for us as we work towards getting ready for ITA National Indoors here in Charlottesville in a couple of weeks.”
The Cavaliers started the doubleheader by taking the doubles point against Kentucky (4-1) with a pair of 6-2 victories by senior Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.) and junior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) at No. 1 doubles and by sophomore Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) and J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) at No. 3. Senior Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) and junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski’s (Charlotte, N.C.) match was tied 4-4 when the doubles point was decided, but went on to win the tiebreaker to earn the win at No. 2. Shane/Corinteli are currently ranked No. 14 in the ITA doubles rankings while Styslinger/Kwiatkowski are No. 5.
In singles, quick victories by Styslinger at four (6-2, 6-4 over Trey Yates), No. 74 Aragone at five (6-3, 6-4 over Enzo Wallart) and No. 90 sophomore Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) at six (6-4, 6-2 over Gus Benson) secured the match for the Cavaliers. After Kentucky’s No. 77 William Bushamuka upset No. 11 Shane, 7-6, 6-3, at No. 1 singles, No. 2 Kwaitkowski closed out a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Ryotaro Matsumura and Altamirano finished the match with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 117 Nils Ellefsen at three.
In the evening dual against Eastern Kentucky, Virginia secured the doubles point after senior Jonathan Cornish and redshirt junior Harrison Richmond won 6-2 at No. 3 followed by No. 18 Wiersholm and Aragone battling for a 6-4 victory at No. 2. Shane and Corinteli were upset at No. 1 doubles, falling 6-4 to Alex Alvaro and Ramon van Flymen.
In singles, Cornish started the sweep with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Florian Graskamp at No. 6. Richmond closed out the match at No. 5 with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Guillem Sanchis. Additionally, Altamirano, playing at No. 1, won 6-2, 6-3 over Alvaro. Kwiatkowski won his second No. 2 doubles match of the day, downing Sebastian Mueller 6-1, 6-3. Aragone won his match at No. 3, 6-2, 6-1 over van Fymen. Corinteli downed Diogo Soares 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4.
“I like where we are and I am really pleased with the team overall,” Boland said. “There were some great matches today and a lot of highlights. To see Harrison Richmond and Jonny Cornish not only compete, but the way they came out in the second match and played at a really high level was exciting. To see a pair of fourth-years just keep getting better and better is great for them as individuals as well something that is making our team collectively that much better.”
The Cavaliers will be back in action at the Boar’s Head next weekend with another doubleheader, hosting Elon and Furman on Saturday, Feb. 6, with the matches scheduled to begin at noon and 5 p.m.
#1 Virginia 6, #51 Kentucky 1
Singles
1. #77 William Bushamuka (KU) def. #11 Ryan Shane (VA) 7-6, 6-3
2. #2 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Ryotaro Matsumura (KU) 7-6, 6-1
3. Collin Altamirano (VA) def. #117 Nils Ellefsen (KU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Mac Styslinger (VA) def. Trey Yates (KU) 6-2, 6-4
5. #74 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Enzo Wallart (KU) 6-3, 6-4
6. #90 Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Gus Benson (KU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. #14 Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) def. Nils Ellefsen/Kevin Lai (KU) 6-2
2. #5 Mac Styslinger/Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Enzo Wallart/Ryotaro Matsumura (KU) 1-0 (7-3)
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Charles Minc/William Bushamuka (KU) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,4,6,1,2,3)
#1 Virginia 7, Eastern Kentucky University 0
Singles
1. Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Alex Alvaro (EKU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #2 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Sebastian Mueller (EKU) 6-1, 6-3
3. #74 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Ramon van Flymen (EKU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Luca Corinteli (VA) def. Diogo Soares (EKU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Harrison Richmond (VA) def. Guillem Sanchis (EKU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Jonathan Cornish (VA) def. Florian Graskamp (EKU) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
1. Alex Alvaro/Ramon van Flymen (EKU) def. #14 Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) 6-4
2. #18 Henrik Wiersholm/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Sebastian Mueller/Diego Asis (EKU) 6-4
3. Harrison Richmond/Jonathan Cornish (VA) def. Diogo Soares/Indra Patwardhan (EKU) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,2,6,4,1,5)