No. 1 Virginia Hosts ITA Kickoff Weekend Matches

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team (4-0) hosts ITA Kickoff Weekend matches at the Boar’s Head Sports Club this Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28-29.

MATCH INFORMATION

• Live courts streams and live scores will be available for the matches with links posted on VirginiaSports.com
• Admission is free

ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND SCHEDULE

• Saturday, Jan. 28, 9 am – Princeton (0-2) vs. Ole Miss (2-0)
• Saturday, Jan. 28, 12 pm – Virginia (4-0) vs. Nevada (0-1)
• Sunday, Jan. 29, 10 am – Consolation Match
• Sunday, Jan. 28, 1 pm – Championship Match

ABOUT ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND

• The ITA Kickoff Weekend is one of the marquee events of the spring season bringing together the top 60 men’s and women’s college tennis teams for a weekend of intense competition. Hosted by 15 men’s and women’s programs from across the country, the ITA Kickoff Weekend is an early-season test for teams against programs they might not typically face.
• Not just playing for pride, the stakes will be high for Kickoff Weekend play as all 120 competing teams are looking to be just one of the 15 teams from each gender to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships
• Each season, the ITA Kickoff Weekend field is determined by the ITA Kickoff Weekend Draft which is held in the summer months after the dual-match season. The Top 15 ranked teams in the final ITA Rankings of the season will automatically serve as hosts for both men’s and women’s teams
• In the draft, teams and coaches have the opportunity to choose where they would like to play. The picks start with the No. 16 ranked team and conclude with the No. 60 ranked team (or until all 60 spots are filled)
• With four teams playing at each host site, the winning teams from the opening round will meet in the second round to determine who advances to the 2023 ITA National Team Indoor Championships
• The winner of the Charlottesville regional will earn a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, being held Feb. 17-20 in Chicago, Ill.
• Virginia is one of six schools to be hosting both the men’s and women’s matches alongside Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio State, Stanford and Texas

CAVALIER NOTES

• The Cavaliers remained at No. 1 in this week’s ITA team rankings
• The Cavaliers improved to 4-0 with a win against No. 11 Baylor last Sunday at the Boar’s Head
• UVA won its first three matches 7-0 and downed Baylor 4-0
• Chris Rodesch was named the ACC Player of the Week after going 2-0 at No. 1 singles last week, including a 6-2, 6-2 win against No. 23 Finn Bass in the Baylor match
• Rodesch and Bar Botzer were named the ACC Doubles Team of the Week after topping Bass and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi in a tiebreaker, 8-6, to clinch the doubles point against Baylor. The Bears’ duo was ranked No. 3 in the nation
• Ryan Goetz and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg have both started the spring by going 4-0 in singles in dual matches. Goetz is 8-2 overall this year and von der Schulenburg is 9-3
• Rodesch, von der Schulenburg and Iñaki Montes have all played at least one match at the No. 1 court this spring
• 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
• Virginia has only failed to advance out of ITA Kickoff Weekend twice in the previous 14 tournaments
• This will be the first-ever meeting between Virginia and Nevada
• Princeton leads the all-time series with UVA 9-4. This would be the first meeting between the two teams since 1987
• Virginia leads the all-time series with Ole Miss, 4-1. The Rebels won the last meeting in 2018 in an ITA Kickoff Weekend consolation match

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers host No. 4 Kentucky next Friday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in a rematch of last season’s NCAA Championship match