Virginia Opens Conference Play with a 4-1 Win over Louisville
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 17 Virginia men’s tennis team (2-0, 1-0 ACC) opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 4-1 victory over Louisville (3-1, 0-1 ACC) on Sunday (January 20) at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
Virginia started the match by winning the doubles point to take the early 1-0 lead. The Cavaliers picked up straight-set victories on courts one and four to go ahead 3-0. After Louisville picked up a point on court six, it became a race to clinch between courts two and three with sophomore Gianni Ross (Chicago, Ill.) doing the honors on court three. The remaining two matches were abandoned after the Cavaliers secured the victory.
“Doubles looked really good today,” said Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso. “We have worked a lot on it and I feel like we are playing really good doubles. In singles, I feel everyone played a complete match. Everyone was playing their identity, their own game. This was a good start for us with these first two matches and now we are ready for a road trip to Texas.”
Senior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) and freshman Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, Calif.) started the day with a dominant 6-1 victory at No. 3 doubles. Senior Aswin Lizen (Douglas, Isle of Man) and sophomore Gianni Ross (Chicago, Ill.) clinched the point with a 6-3 victory at No. 2.
Junior Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) raced through his match on court one, downing Louisville’s only ranked player, Brandon Lancaster, 6-1, 6-0, to give UVA a 2-0 advantage. Wiersholm made it 3-0 by picking up a victory on court four. After Louisville finished a three-set victory on court six, Ross closed things out with his 6-2, 7-5 victory on court three. Nakashima was leading 6-3, 6-5 and was serving with a 30-0 advantage on court two when play was abandoned.
Wiersholm has now won 26 consecutive conference singles matches.
Next weekend, Virginia heads to College Station, Texas, to compete in ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Cavaliers will face Cal on Saturday and then either Texas A&M or Western Michigan on Sunday as they vie for one of 16 slots at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, being held Feb. 15-18 in Chicago, Ill. Virginia’s next home match is a showdown on Friday, Feb. 8 against reigning national champion Wake Forest at 6 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
#17 Virginia 4, Louisville 1
Singles competition
1. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #104 Brandon Lancaster (LOU-MT) 6-1, 6-0
2. Brandon Nakashima (VA) vs. C. Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU-MT) 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
3. #38 Gianni Ross (VA) def. Fabien Salle (LOU-MT) 6-2, 7-5
4. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Federico Gomez (LOU-MT) 6-3, 6-4
5. Aswin Lizen (VA) vs. Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
6. David Mizrahi (LOU-MT) def. Matthew Lord (VA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Carl Soderlund/Matthew Lord (VA) vs. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Fabien Salle (LOU-MT) 5-3, unfinished
2. Aswin Lizen/Gianni Ross (VA) def. Brandon Lancaster/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU-MT) 6-3
3. Brandon Nakashima/Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Federico Gomez/Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,4,6,3)
T-2:00 A-257