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Virginia Opens the 2021 Season With a 7-0 Win Against Liberty

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 22 Virginia men’s tennis team (1-0) opened the 2021 season with a 7-0 win against Liberty (0-1) on Sunday (Jan. 17) at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

Virginia won the doubles point and took a 6-0 lead after sweeping the first five singles courts in straight sets. Freshman Iñaki Montes de la Torre (Pamplona, Spain) dropped his first set on court four, 6-4, but won his second 6-1 to force a third set. Montes went down 0-4 to Rafael Marques da Silva in the decider, but won five straight games to take a 5-4 lead. The set was eventually knotted at 6-6, forcing a tiebreaker, which Montes won 7-1 to finish off the sweep for the Cavaliers.

MATCH NOTES

  • Montes de la Torre and freshman Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (Zurich, Switzerland) clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win on court three
  • Senior Gianni Ross (Chicago, Ill.) clinched the match victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court six
  • von der Schulenburg picked up a dominant 6-1, 6-2 singles victory on court two over Josh Wilson
  • Virginia had three freshmen make their collegiate debuts in the match, with all three winning their singles matches. Chris Rodesch (Angelsburg, Luxembourg) was the third, picking up a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 5 singles
  • This was the Cavaliers’ first match since March 11, 2020, the last athletic event played by any UVA team in the spring

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“It was a great effort across the board, doubles, singles, upperclassmen, first-years. I thought we had great composure out there, and a really good start to the season. Can’t ask for anything more. Really proud of our first years in their first college match, especially in Iñaki Montes to come back from down 4-0. The upperclassmen were also solid, so we’re off to a good start.

“Before the match, we talked about gratitude and just being grateful to have this opportunity. And I told the guys to thank some people who played a role in making this possible for us. Having a season during a pandemic is a big deal. So thank you to the athletic department and the university, our fans, everybody, for being here to give us a chance of having a season. We’re so thankful.”

ON THE HORIZON

  • The Cavaliers will head to Columbus, Ohio to compete in ITA Kickoff Weekend matches next weekend
  • UVA plays No. 3 Ohio State on Friday, Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. in the opening round. Iowa and Texas Tech are also competing in Columbus, vying to be one of seven teams advancing from their Kickoff Weekend tournaments to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, being held Feb. 12-15 at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Illinois

 

#22 Virginia 7, Liberty 0

Singles competition

  1. #29 Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Nicaise Muamba (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-3
  2. J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 6-1, 6-2
  3. Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Goncalo Ferreira (LIBERTYM) 6-0, 6-4
  4. Inaki Montes (VA) def. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1)
  5. Chris Rodesch (VA) def. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-4
  6. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Zion Heaven (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

  1. Carl Soderlund/William Woodall (VA) def. Josh Wilson/Goncalo Ferreira (LIBERTYM) 6-2
  2. Ryan Goetz/Chris Rodesch (VA) vs. Deji Thomas-Smith/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 4-2, unfinished
  3. Inaki Montes/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Nicaise Muamba/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,3,6,5,1,4)

T-3:02 A-64

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