No. 4 Virginia Sweeps Miami in First Match at New Facility

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.. –  The No. 4 Virginia men’s tennis team (10-2, 4-0 ACC) swept Miami (3-4, 2-1 ACC), winning 7-0 on Friday (March 5) in the first match played at the new Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville.

Virginia won on the top two courts to clinch the doubles point. In singles, UVA built up a quick 3-0 lead with straight-set victories on courts one and three, but the remaining four courts all went to third sets.

Freshman Iñaki Montes (Pamplona, Spain) had the most dominant victory of the day, zipping through a 6-2, 6-3 contest against Benjamin Hannestad on court three. On the top court, grad student Carl Söderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) won his first set 6-1, and then closed out his match by winning a tiebreaker, 7-5, to decide the second set.

Freshman Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (Zurich, Switzerland) dropped his first set 6-1, but rebounded with 6-3, 6-4 wins. Junior Ryan Goetz (Greenlawn, N.Y.) also rebounded from losing his first to go 6-1, 6-2 in the final sets.

Freshmen Chris Rodesch (Angelsberg, Luxumbourg) and Alexander Kiefer (The Woodlands, Texas) both won their first sets, but dropped their seconds to force third sets. Rodesch won his decider 6-2 on court five while Kiefer picked up a 6-4 win to close out his match on court six.

MATCH NOTES

• This was the first match played at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort
• Miami is ranked No. 39 in this week’s ITA team rankings
• Söderlund and junior William Woodall (Washington, D.C.) won their doubles match 6-1 on Court 1 while Rodesch and Goetz had a 6-2 victory on Court 2

FROM ANDRES PEDROSO

“We’re really excited to be on the new courts with a beautiful place to play tennis. We learned a lot about what it’s like to play here, with the wind and the sun. It’s just new elements that we’re not used to, so there really wasn’t a homecourt advantage today. But I thought our guys handled it well and problem solved and we got through it for the W.

“I think everyone competed really well. It was pretty windy, so I don’t know if anyone hit the ball extremely well, but we problem-solved. We got gritty and then we found a way.”

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia hosts Florida State on Monday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m. on the outdoor courts of the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort

#4 Virginia 7, #39 University of Miami 0

Singles competition

1. #29 Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #34 A. Soriano Barrera (UM) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
2. #105 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Inaki Montes (VA) def. Benjamin Hannestad (UM) 6-2, 6-3
4. Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #64 Stefan Milicevic (UM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5. Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Franco Aubone (UM) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
6. Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Oren Vasser (UM) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Doubles competition

1. Carl Soderlund/William Woodall (VA) def. #22 Benjamin Hannestad/Franco Aubone (UM) 6-1
2. Ryan Goetz/Chris Rodesch (VA) def. A. Soriano Barrera/Stephen Madonia (UM) 6-2
3. J vd Schulenburg/Inaki Montes (VA) vs. Stefan Milicevic/Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 3-2, unfinished

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