No. 5 Virginia Hosts Georgia Tech and Clemson This Weekend
Live Stats | Friday Video Stream | Sunday Video Stream
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team (12-3, 3-2 ACC) will host a pair of conference opponents this weekend, taking on No. 44 Georgia Tech (8-6, 3-2 ACC) on Friday, March 22 at 3 p.m., and Clemson (8-10, 1-4 ACC) on Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m. Both matches are slated to be played outdoors at the Snyder Tennis Center.
Live scoring and live streaming video will be available for both matches through links posted on VirginiaSports.com.
The Cavaliers, who are No. 5 in this week’s Oracle ITA rankings, went 3-1 on their spring break road trip, picking up wins at USF, UCF and NC State before suffering a loss at No. 2 Wake Forest on Sunday.
Junior Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) was named the ACC Men’s Tennis Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday (March 19), his second time this season earning the honor. Söderlund toppled 2018 NCAA Singles Champion Petros Chrysochos in straight sets in Sunday’s match at Wake Forest. He also picked up a win over Alan Rubio in UVA’s 4-1 win at UCF on Tuesday. Söderlund has moved up to No. 11 in the Oracle ITA singles rankings and is 11-3 this season, including a 5-0 record at No. 2.
Freshman Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, Calif.) is No. 63 in this week’s singles rankings as well as partnering with senior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) to earn a No. 64 ranking in doubles. Nakashima is 8-4 in singles this season and had won six-straight matches before being edged at Wake Forest by Borna Gojo on court one. Nakashima and Wiersholm are 9-2 in doubles.
Friday’s match is the first home contest for the Cavaliers since February 8th when the Cavaliers topped then-No. 1 Wake Forest, 5-2, in a non-conference match. The showdown with Georgia Tech is also slated to be the first match at Snyder this season for either the men’s or women’s tennis teams.
Georgia Tech is No. 44 in this week’s Oracle ITA rankings, its first entry in the top-50 this season. Last weekend, the Jackets pulled off two upsets over No. 7 North Carolina (4-3) and over No. 44 Duke, thanks to play by freshman Pablo Schelcher who won the clinching match in both victories. Carlos Divar is 6-3 this season at No. 1 singles and is currently ranked No. 30.
Clemson has lost its last four matches, including a pair of 4-0 losses to Duke and North Carolina last weekend. Simon Baudry leads the Tigers with a 22-9 record in singles this season, including a 12-5 record on the No. 2 court. Alex Favrot is 7-10 at No. 1 singles.
Virginia is 36-12 all-time against Georgia Tech and has won the last 17 match-ups. The Yellow Jackets last win against UVA was in 2002. Clemson holds a 42-28 advantage in the series, but the Cavaliers have won the last 16 meetings. The Tigers last defeated UVA in 2003.
The Cavaliers’ homestand concludes next Friday when they host Duke on Friday, March 29 at 3 p.m.