No. 22 Virginia Topples No. 3 Ohio State to Earn a Berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship
COLUMBUS, OHIO – The No. 22 Virginia men’s tennis team (3-0) defeated No. 3 Ohio State (1-1) by a 4-2 score in the championship match of Kickoff Weekend in Columbus, Ohio.
With the victory, the Cavaliers have earned one of eight spots in the field of the 2021 ITA Men’s National Team Indoor Championship being held Feb. 12-14 at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.
Virginia won the doubles point and picked up three singles victories, including a pair of straight-set wins by freshmen Iñaki Montes (Pamplona, Spain) and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (Zurich, Switzerland). Senior Gianni Ross (Chicago, Ill.) clinched the team victory with a win on court six.
Von Der Schulenburg and Montes opened the match with a 6-4 win on the third doubles court. For the second-straight day, junior Ryan Goetz (Greenlawn, N.Y.) and freshman Chris Rodesch (Angelsburg, Luxembourg) clinched the point with a win on court two.
Ohio State tied the match 1-1 with a straight-set victory on singles court two. Montes countered with his 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 25 Kyle Seelig on court four to put UVA up 2-1. Von der Schulenburg gave UVA a 3-1 lead by picking up a 6-4, 7-5 victory over James Trotter on court three. Ohio State’s JJ Tracy finished up a three-set victory on court five to put the match at 3-2.
Ross had dropped his first set 6-2, but came back to dominate the final two sets 6-3, 6-1 against Robert Cash to close out the victory.
MATCH NOTES
- Ohio State was the top-seed in Columbus’ four-team ITA Kickoff Weekend regional. Virginia was the No. 3 seed
- This was only Ohio State’s second loss at home since April of 2003. Their only other loss in that span was falling to No. 1 Oklahoma in March of 2015
- The ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, presented by Oracle, is in its 47th year of existence. This year’s field has been halved from the usual 16 teams to just eight, seven qualifiers from ITA Kickoff Weekend tournaments and the host institution, Illinois
- The Cavaliers have won six ITA National Team Indoor Championships, including four-straight from 2008 to 2011 and most recently in 2017 when the tournament was held in Charlottesville
FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO
“I’m very happy for the team because I know how hard they have worked and sacrificed since the season was canceled last March. As always in these matches with OSU, it came down to a few points and I’m just proud that our guys stay composed and competed together until the end. We look forward to the opportunity in Champaign.”
ON THE HORIZON
- The Cavaliers return home to host Old Dominion on Saturday, January 28 at 11 a.m. indoors at the Boar’s Head Sports Club
- Virginia’s home match against Wake Forest that was scheduled to be played on Thursday, Feb. 4 has been moved to Saturday, Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. This is a non-conference meeting between the two ACC opponents
#22 Virginia 4, #3 Ohio State 2
Singles competition
- #5 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) vs. #29 Carl Soderlund (VA) 6-4, 3-6, 2-4, unfinished
- #11 John McNally (OSU) def. Ryan Goetz (VA) 6-3, 6-2
- #106 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. #80 James Trotter (OSU) 6-4, 7-5
- Inaki Montes (VA) def. #25 Kyle Seelig (OSU) 6-2, 6-3
- JJ Tracy (OSU) def. Chris Rodesch (VA) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Gianni Ross (VA) def. Robert Cash (OSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
- #4 John McNally/Robert Cash (OSU) vs. Carl Soderlund/William Woodall (VA) 5-4, unfinished
- Ryan Goetz/Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #37 James Trotter/Justin Boulais (OSU) 6-4
- J vd Schulenburg/Inaki Montes (VA) def. #51 Kyle Seelig/Cannon Kingsley (OSU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,3,5,6)
ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship Match
Official: Mark Anderson T-2:28 A-62