No. 2 Virginia Wins Commonwealth Clash Match 6-1
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The No. 2 Virginia men’s tennis team (17-4, 9-0 ACC) picked up a 6-1 victory at Virginia Tech (9-8, 2-7 ACC) on Wednesday (April 3) at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and five straight singles matches to pick up a point in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash to extend Virginia’s lead to 9-6.
Freshman Dylan Dietrich clinched the victory for the Cavaliers.
Senior Chris Rodesch and grad student Edoardo Graziani opened the match with a 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles. After Virginia Tech took court two, senior Iñaki Montes and grad student James Hopper won 6-4 on the top court to clinch the point.
In singles, senior Alex Kiefer powered through a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court five to give UVA a 2-0 lead before all of the first sets had finished. Rodesch added a 6-3, 6-3 win against Ryan Fishback on court one to make it 3-0.
The rest of the courts were much tighter. The Hokies took first sets on courts two, three and six. Sophomore Måns Dahlberg persevered through a tiebreaker to decide the final first set, outlasting Hugo Maia 11-9 on court four to keep the match in the Cavaliers’ control.
The momentum swung in the second sets, with UVA taking all three courts they had dropped the first sets on. Dietrich was the first to finish his third, downing Michael Shepheard 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on three to give UVA a 4-0 lead. Senior Jeffrey von der Schulenburg finished minutes later, coming back to down Maxime St. Hilaire 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on court two to give UVA a 5-0 lead. Dahlberg went to another tiebreaker to decide his second set, winning it 8-6 to take his match and make it 6-0.
In the final match, Graziani and Alberto Orso’s final set was tied 6-6, forcing a tiebreaker. The two traded points back and forth until Orso finally won two in a row, taking the breaker 11-9 to give the Hokies their point.
FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO
“I’m really proud of this team. We had tough conditions today. It was cold and windy, and I felt like our guys handled it really well. There were certain spots where we were in some holes, and they just found ways to be patient with themselves and beat the conditions. I’m really proud of Eddy Graziani for the way he competed out there at the end. The way our team cheered him on just shows our culture is really strong, and it was a really good moment for our program.”
“Virginia Tech competed great. I have to give them a lot of credit.”
MATCH NOTES
- Virginia Tech is ranked No. 58 in the latest ITA team rankings
- Virginia holds a 62-9 record in the series
SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH
- The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash is a rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
- The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash trophy
- Virginia currently holds a 9-6 lead
- Virginia captured the Clash in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2023, while Virginia Tech won the Clash in 2017, 2018 and 2022. The 2020 and 2021 clashes were canceled due to the pandemic.
ON THE HORIZON
- The Cavaliers will close out the weekend hosting Boston College on Sunday, April 7 at 12 p.m. (Please note the new match time for Sunday’s contest)
#2 Virginia 6, Virginia Tech 1
Singles competition
- #6 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #89 Ryan Fishback (VT) 6-3, 6-3
- #52 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
- #50 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Michael Shepheard (VT) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
- Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (8-6)
- Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Benjamin Pomeranets (VT) 6-1, 6-1
- Alberto Orso (VT) def. Edoardo Graziani (VA) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (11-9)
Doubles competition
- #6 James Hopper/Inaki Montes (VA) def. #76 Ryan Fishback/Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) 6-4
- Matt Harper/Alberto Orso (VT) def. J vd Schulenburg/Dylan Dietrich (VA) 6-4
- Chris Rodesch/Edoardo Graziani (VA) def. Hugo Maia/Manuel Goncalves (VT) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,1,3,2,4,6)
T-3:31 A-207