No. 3 Virginia Falls at No. 2 Wake Forest, 6-1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 3 Virginia men’s tennis team (12-3, 3-2 ACC) suffered a 6-1 loss at No. 2 Wake Forest (16-3, 4-0 ACC) on Sunday (March 17) in Winston-Salem, N.C.
“It was a very productive spring break for our team,” said head coach Andres Pedroso. “Credit to Wake Forest, they were the better team today. We learned a lot this spring break and competed extremely well. We are right where we need to be at this point in the season and now we will turn our focus to the smaller details as we get closer to the post-season.”
Junior Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) picked up the lone point for the Cavaliers, toppling 2018 NCAA Singles Champion Petros Chrysochos in straight sets. Soderlund, who is currently ranked No. 15 in singles, downed Chrysochos, who is currently ranked No. 2, 6-4, 7-5, on court two.
The Cavaliers battled with three of the six singles matches’ first sets decided in tiebreakers. Seniors Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) and Aswin Lizen (Douglas, Isle of Man) and sophomore Matthew Lord (Bloomfield, Conn.) all had their first sets knotted 6-6, with both Wiersholm and Lord being edged 8-6 in the tiebreaker and Lizen falling, 7-5. On court one, freshman Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, Calif.) dropped his second set in a tiebreaker, 7-4, to Borna Gojo.
In doubles, Wiersholm and Nakashima started the match by picking up a 6-3 victory over Chrysochos and Bar Botzer, but Wake clinched by picking up a late break on court three to win 7-5.
The Cavaliers return home next week, hosting Georgia Tech on Friday, March 22 at 3 p.m. and Clemson on Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m. Both matches are slated to be played outdoors at the Snyder Tennis Center.