No. 2 Virginia Sweeps Duke, 7-0
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Box Score March 26, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 2 Virginia men’s tennis team (17-0, 4-0 ACC) picked up a 7-0 victory over Duke (10-7, 3-3 ACC) on Sunday (March 26) at the Snyder Tennis Center in Charlottesville, Va.
Duke was traveling with only six healthy players. When T.J. Pura was injured during doubles warm-ups, the Blue Devils had to default at No. 3. The Cavaliers clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win on the No. 2 court. Duke’s Catalin Mateas sustained an injury between singles and doubles, putting the Blue Devils down two players for singles. Virginia was given the walkover wins at line five and six and led the match 3-0 as singles began. Senior J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) clinched the victory with his 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 4.
This is the Cavaliers second 7-0 sweep of the weekend after downing NC State by that same score on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.
“I believe we are getting better with each match,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I have certainly seen the guys improve as competitors throughout the year. We just need to concentrate on continuing to play good doubles and focus one day at a time the rest of the season, starting with our next match. We are looking forward to what is ahead and I am really pleased with where we are right now. It was a tough day for Duke to have that many injuries at the same time. That is highly unusual. Hopefully those players will get better.”
Senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and junior Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) combined to defeat Ryan Dickerson and Jason Lapidus 6-2 at No. 2 doubles. Senior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) and junior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) were leading 5-2 at No. 1 when court two finished.
In singles, after Aragone downed Lapidus 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4, Ritschard closed out a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Nick Stachowiak. After a tight first set, junior Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) took control in the second set, downing Ryan Dickerson 6-4, 6-2. Kwiatkowski took his first set 6-1 over No. 76 Spencer Furman, but Furman battled in the second set, deadlocking it at 6-6. The two battled through a tiebreaker with Kwiatkowski prevailing 9-7 to avoid a third set and close out the sweep.
This week, the Cavaliers will travel to Winston-Salem for a Friday, March 31 showdown against No. 1 Wake Forest (17-1, 5-0 ACC). The match will stream live online at 4 p.m. on ESPN3 as a USTA College MatchDay production. The Cavaliers will then return home for the first of four-straight home matches when they host Clemson on Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m. at the Snyder Tennis Center.
Admission is free for all Virginia men’s tennis home matches.
#2 Virginia 7, Duke 0
Singles competition
1. #6 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #76 Spencer Furman (DU) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
2. Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Nick Stachowiak (DU) 6-3, 6-1
3. #64 Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Ryan Dickerson (DU) 6-4, 6-2
4. #104 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Jason Lapidus (DU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. No player (DU), by walkover
6. Luca Corinteli (VA) def. No player (DU), by walkover
Doubles competition
1. #49 Luca Corinteli/Henrik Wiersholm (VA) vs. Spencer Furman/Nick Stachowiak (DU) 5-2, unfinished
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Ryan Dickerson/Jason Lapidus (DU) 6-2
3. J.C. Aragone/Collin Altamirano (VA) def. TJ Pura/Catalin Mateas (DU), by default
Order of finish: Doubles (2); Singles (4,2,3,1)
T-2:02 A-517