Virginia Sweeps Sunday Doubleheader
Feb. 11, 2018
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s tennis team (5-3) picked up a 4-2 victory over Monmouth and defeated Liberty 6-1 on Sunday (February 11) at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point in both matches, picking up the point against Liberty (3-5) with a dramatic comeback in a tiebreaker at three. Against Monmouth (1-5), the Cavaliers picked up victories at one, two and four singles to clinch the match. In the Liberty match, the Cavaliers won on courts two through six. Freshmen Gianni Ross (Chicago, Ill.) and Matt Lord (Bloomfield, Conn.) and junior Aswin Lizen each picked up a pair of singles victories on the day.
“These guys showed me a good level of toughness today and I am really proud of them,” said Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso. “This team is tough. They are a bunch of competitors. We had a great week of practice and worked on some specifics in practice that really helped a lot. After we won the doubles point [against Liberty], we talked about what happened last weekend when we won the doubles point against Kentucky, and then had a letdown in singles. This time, the guys came out fired up and didn’t take it for granted. They really brought great energy from the start. This was another improvement there from a young team.”
The Cavaliers opened the day with a 4-2 victory over Monmouth. The Cavaliers dominated the doubles point, winning 6-2 on court two and 6-0 on three while also leading 4-2 on court one. In singles, Ross and Lord picked up victories on courts two and four while junior Aswin Lizen (Douglas, Isle of Man) clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-4 victory on court one.
In the Liberty match, the two teams split the results on courts one and two, leaving the fate of the point to be determined on court three, a match that was knotted 6-6. Lord and redshirt freshman Ammar Alhaqbani (Alexandria, Va.) fell behind 5-0 in the tiebreaker, but rallied to win seven-straight points to take it 7-5 and secure the doubles point for the Cavaliers.
In singles, Alhaqbani rebounded from a loss against Monmouth by picking up a quick 6-0, 6-1 victory over Diego Castano on court five. Lord followed with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Vince Salas on four. Ross clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Eddie Guitierrez. Freshman Kyrylo Tsygura (North Potomac, Md.) picked up a victory on six to make it 5-1.
The battle of the day happened on court two with Lizen and Chase Burton locked in a three-setter that lasted over 2:15. Lizen dropped the first set 6-4, but battled for a 7-5 victory in the second. Lizen closed out the match with a 6-3 victory in the third set.
“Burton was more of an attacking player, looking for serve and then two or three shots to get the point finished,” Lizen said. “I am in really good shape right now, making a lot of balls, and making it really tough for him. I felt it there in the end in the third set. I felt that I had a little more in the tank and was able to take control a little better.”
The Cavaliers are off next weekend, and then will close out its string of nine-straight home matches to begin the spring season by hosting Mercer on Friday, February 23 at 11 a.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Admission is free for all Virginia home tennis matches. Please note that due to construction, parking will be limited at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. Fans are encouraged to arrive early. Live scoring and streaming video will be available through a link on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia 4, Monmouth 2
Singles competition
1. #10 Aswin Lizen (VA) def. Pipoli, Nicola (MU-M) 6-2, 6-4
2. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Jakovljevic, Srdjan (MU-M) 6-2, 6-2
3. Gomez Estrada, Ale (MU-M) def. Ammar Alhaqbani (VA) 7-6 (0-2), 6-1
4. Matthew Lord (VA) def. Giuffrida, Alberto (MU-M) 6-4, 6-3
5. Spencer Bozsik (VA) vs. Wharton, Will (MU-M) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0, unfinished
6. Martinez, Sergio (MU-M) def. Jerome Romualdez (VA) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Carl Soderlund/Spencer Bozsik (VA) vs. Pipoli, Nicola/Giuffrida, Alberto (MU-M) 4-2, unfinished
2. Aswin Lizen/Gianni Ross (VA) def. Jakovljevic, Srdjan/Gomez Estrada, Ale (MU-M) 6-2
3. Ammar Alhaqbani/Matthew Lord (VA) def. Wharton, Will/Martinez, Sergio (MU-M) 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,6,3,4,1)
A-131
Virginia 6, Liberty 1
Singles competition
1. MATHESON, Sam (LIBERTYM) def. Carl Soderlund (VA) 7-6 (3), retired
2. #10 Aswin Lizen (VA) def. BURTON, Chase (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. Gianni Ross (VA) def. GUTIERREZ, Eddie (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
4. Matthew Lord (VA) def. SALAS, Vince (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-0
5. Ammar Alhaqbani (VA) def. CASTANO, Diego (LIBERTYM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Kyrylo Tsygura (VA) def. POYNTER, Alex (LIBERTYM) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Aswin Lizen/Gianni Ross (VA) def. POYNTER, Alex/CASTANO, Diego (LIBERTYM) 6-3
2. GUTIERREZ, Eddie/SALAS, Vince (LIBERTYM) def. Spencer Bozsik/Carl Soderlund (VA) 6-3
3. Matthew Lord/Ammar Alhaqbani (VA) def. MATHESON, Sam/BURTON, Chase (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (5)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,1,4,3,6,2)
A-93 T:3:15