No. 6 Virginia Hosts Carolina Schools This Weekend

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 6 Virginia men’s tennis team (13-2, 7-0 ACC) hosts Duke (7-5, 3-1 ACC) on Friday, March 26 at 3 p.m., and No. 1 North Carolina (12-0, 4-0 ACC) on Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played on the outdoor courts of the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.

MATCH DETAILS

• Live scoring and video will be available through links on VirginiaSports.com

NOTING THE CAVALIERS

• Despite riding a seven-match win streak into last week’s bye-weekend, the Cavaliers have slipped to No. 6 in the most recent ITA team rankings. Virginia has been ranked as high as No. 3 this season after coming into the year ranked No. 22
• The ITA released the first updated individual rankings of the 2021 season on Wednesday. Grad student Carl Söderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) is ranked No. 6
• Söderlund and junior William Woodall (Washington, D.C.) are No.10 in doubles
• Freshman Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (Zurich, Switzerland) is ranked No. 21 in singles, giving UVA two players in the top-25. Von der Schulenburg was ranked No. 106 in the preseason rankings before he ever played a collegiate match. He leads the team with a 12-2 record in singles
• Freshman Iñaki Montes (Pamplona, Spain) played his way into the ITA rankings, coming in at No. 98 in singles. Montes has won his last five singles matches and is 5-0 in ACC matches
• Montes and von der Schulenburg are 10-2 in doubles and have won their last seven completed matches
• Junior Ryan Goetz (Greenlawn, N.Y.) is a perfect 6-0 in singles in ACC play

NOTING DUKE

• Duke is coming off of a COVID-related pause. The team has not played a match since March 7 when it topped Louisville 4-1
• The Blue Devils are ranked No. 36 in this week’s ITA team rankings
• Garrett Johns, ranked No. 92 in the ITA singles rankings, is 6-3 on the top court
• The Blue Devils are a combined 9-2 on Court Four
• Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso is a Duke alum. Pedroso helped lead the Blue Devils to four ACC titles, was a two-time All-American and was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team
• Pedroso and Duke head coach Ramsey Smith were teammates on the Blue Devils, both graduating in 2001 from Duke
• Duke leads the all-time series, 54-44. Virginia won the last meeting 4-2 in 2019. The two teams did not play each other last season

NOTING NORTH CAROLINA

• The undefeated Tar Heels remain at No. 1 in the ITA rankings, a position they have held since winning the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February
• This will be the second meeting between the two teams this year after facing one another in the semifinals of   UNC won that match 4-2. Virginia won the doubles point and built up a 2-0 lead with a win by Jeffrey von der Schulenburg on singles court three, but North Carolina won four-straight singles matches to advance to the final
• The Tar Heels have five players in the ITA singles rankings, led by Rinky Hijikata at No. 24. Hijikata is 9-1 in singles this season, playing across the top three courts
• William Blumberg was ranked No. 2 in the preseason, but is No. 53 in the latest rankings. He is 5-1 this season at No. 1 singles
• Blumberg and Brian Cernoch are ranked No. 5 in doubles
• North Carolina leads the all-time series 71-40. UVA had won the previous two meetings (both in 2019) before falling this year at ITA Indoors

ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES

• Due to health and safety considerations, in addition to the current guidelines for sports venues set by the Commonwealth of Virginia, attendance for UVA home men’s and women’s tennis competitions will be limited to the family of student-athletes and coaching staff until further notice

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers wrap up a seven-match homestand that has spanned the entire month of March by hosting Virginia Tech on Thursday, April 1 at 3 p.m.
• The match against the Hokies will also include the annual Senior Day celebration honoring the eight fourth and fifth years on the team