Virginia’s Collin Altamirano and JC Aragone didn’t waste any time at No. 3 as they ran all over Ronnie Schneider and Andrew Gores 6-0.
North Carolina’s No. 2 team of Brayden Schnur and Jack Murray took their first lead of the match when they broke to go up 4-3 and then Murray held for 5-3. Virginia’s Mac Styslinger and Thai-Son Kwaitkowski would hold for 4-5, break Schnur for 5-5, and then hold for 6-5. Murray held to send it to a tiebreak and in the tiebreak the UNC pair jumped out to a 5-2* lead. UNC served up 6-4 but UVA got the mini-break back only to see UNC take the next point to win it 7-6(5).
The doubles point would finish in the next 60 seconds with the remaining match at No. 1 also in a tiebreak. After 12 consecutive holds, Virginia’s Luca Corinteli and Ryan Shane jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak but UNC’s Brett Clark and Robert Kelly took the next three to go up 4-3. UNC went up a mini-break for 5-4 and then took the next point to go up 6-4. UVA took the next two to even it at 6-6 but UNC took the last two to win it 8-6.
Carolina wins dramatic doubles pt, 8-6 at 1 and 7-5 at 2 TB pic.twitter.com/jozBeD5BBEUNC Men’s Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 1, 2016
North Carolina got off to a quick start in singles with Brayden Schnur, Ronnie Schneider, Brett Clark, Robert Kelly, and Anu Kodali each going up early breaks while Henrik Wiersholm was the only Cavalier to come out of the gates strong.
UNC sophomore Robert Kelly was the first off the court with a surprising 6-2, 6-3 romp over JC Aragone at No. 5. The reason I say surprising is because Aragone had rolled Kelly in the two previous meetings but not today. Kelly broke Aragone to start the match but Aragone broke back and held for 2-1. Kelly then reeled off seven straight games, which was two more games than he won in the previous meeting, to take the opening set 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the second. After a Aragone hold, Kelly would hold for 3-1, break for 4-1, and hold for 5-1. Aragone would hold for 2-5, break for 3-5, but Kelly broke back to close it out.
UNC 2, UVA 0 Kelly d. Aragone 2,3 pic.twitter.com/eXniGQDnPZUNC Men’s Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 1, 2016
UVA sophomore Henrik Wiersholm would put the Cavaliers on the board with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jack Murray at No. 4. Murray broke Wiersholm to start the match but he wouldn’t lead again as Wiersholm broke back and then broke two more times to take the opening set 6-2. Wiersholm held to start the second set then broke Murray to go up 2-0. Murray broke back but Wiersholm broke again, held, and then broke one more time to go up 5-1. Murray broke and held to pull within 3-5 but Wiersholm was finally able to serve it out for a 6-2, 6-3 win.
UNC freshman Anu Kodali would extend the lead to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Mac Styslinger at No. 6. Kodali broke Styslinger to go up 3-2 in the first and would break again to go up 5-2. Styslinger got one of the breaks back and then held for 4-5 but Kodali held to take the set 6-4. Kodali jumped out to a double break 3-0 lead in the second set before Styslinger broke and held to pull within 3-2. It was all holds the rest of the way with Kodali taking it 6-4, 6-4.
All three remaining courts were into a third set with UNC needing just one of them while UVA needed all three.
UNC junior Brayden Schnur came out of the gates on fire at No. 1 by breaking UVA’s Ryan Shane to go up 2-1 in the first and then he’d break again to go up 4-1. Shane got one of the breaks back but Schnur immediately broke back and then held to take the opening set 6-2. Shane turned things around in the second set and opened up a 3-0 lead and would cruise to a 6-1 set. Shane broke Schnur to start the third set and held for 2-0 but Schnur would hold, break, and hold to go up 3-2. It stayed on serve the rest of the way and went to a tiebreak.
Schnur went up *3-1 but he’d double fault and then miss a forehand to make it 3-3. They’d alternate the next five points with Schnur going up 6-5 after Shane hit a double fault at 5-5. Schnur would cash in on his first match point with a service winner to seal the big win.
UNC 4, UVA 1 Schnur clinches over NCAA singles champ, Shane 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(5) pic.twitter.com/8T4lozTWFFUNC Men’s Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 1, 2016
Note: Schnur’s serve on match point hit the tape and the change of pace was enough to throw Shane off which helped force his return to go long.
The two remaining matches were played out with UVA’s Collin Altamirano coming back from 4-1 down in the third to win 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 over Ronnie Schneider at No. 2 and UVA’s Thai-Son Kwiatkowski coming back from 3-1 down in the third to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Another great match with the same outcome as the last one.
Apr 01, 2016 at Chapel Hill, NC (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
Schnur post match pic.twitter.com/4MYOQGvFuQUNC Men’s Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 1, 2016
Brett Clark describes how UNC clinched a dramatic dbls point pic.twitter.com/7rEXfyKcMFUNC Men’s Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 1, 2016
Post-Match Quotes from UNC’s recap
“Congratulations to North Carolina, said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I truly believe we are right where we need to be at this point in the regular season, we just unfortunately lose a few breakers that cost us the match. If that is going to happen, now is the time for that. We are only going to get better by the day. We need to get healthy. Alexander Ritschard, who has been out all spring, is getting closer by the day. We are taking it extremely slow with him, but not having one of your best players makes it tough. Ryan Shane has not been healthy throughout the year, but he is heading in the right direction and this is the best he has felt. We will stick to the process. With our goal being success in the postseason, we are right where we need to be.
_________________________________________________________
Texas A&M looked good in doubles and took the point by winning at No. 2 and No. 3. Max Lunkin and Arthur Rinderknech came back from *1-3 down to defeat Wayne Montgomery and Emil Reinberg 6-4 at No. 3. Shane Vinsant and Harrison Adams broke serve to go up 3-2 and never looked back in a 6-4 win over Paul Oosterbaan and Jan Zielinski at No. 2.
Texas A&M used the momentum from doubles and jumped out to early break leads on several courts in singles but Georgia would rebound and take five of six first sets.
The one court where Georgia never trailed was at No. 3. Walker Duncan jumped out to the early lead on Jordi Arconada and despite a road-bump late in the second set would take it 6-1, 7-6(6).
Georgia sophomore Wayne Montgomery put Georgia ahead 2-1 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Shane Vinsant at No. 2. Vinsant led 4-1 in the first but Montgomery won five straight to close out the set 6-4. Montgomery served for the match up 5-2 in the second but Vinsant broke to stay alive. Montgomery would break back on the deciding point to close it out.
Georgia freshman Jan Zielinski put Georgia up 3-1 with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over AJ Catanzariti at No. 5. Zielinski opened up a double-break 3-0 lead to start the match but Catanzariti took the next four to go up 4-3. Zielinski was able to reverse the trend by holding, breaking, and holding to take the set 6-4. Catanzariti rolled through the second set but Zielinski dominated the third to put the Bulldogs just a point away from the win.
 |
| Austin Smith (Photo Via UGA) |
Georgia was up on all three remaining courts and it’d be senior Austin Smith that would close out the Aggies with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Arthur Rinderknech at No. 1. Rinderknech took the opening set 6-2 but Smith was looking good in the second after breaking to go up 5-4. Rinderknech fought off two set points to break for 5-5 but Smith broke back and held to take the set 7-5. Smith broke Rinderknech to go up 3-2 in the third and then broke again for 5-2. Smith held at love to close out the win and essentially end Texas A&M’s hopes of repeating as regular season conference champs.
The two remaining matches were abandoned with UGA’s Paul Oosterbaan leading 4-2 in the third at No. 4 while Max Lunkin and Nick Wood had just split sets at No. 6.
The Friday schedule kicked off with an early one in windy Blacksburg between No. 45 Virginia Tech and No. 6 Wake Forest. Wake was able to take the doubles point with 6-2 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 but Virginia Tech turned the tide in singles and took five opening sets with Wake’s only first set coming from freshman Petros Chrysochos.
It just so happened that Chrysochos was first off the court with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Andreas Bjerrehus at No. 2 but Virginia Tech senior Amerigo Contini followed closely behind with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jon Ho at No. 3.
Wake Forest would take the second set on each of remaining four courts and Christian Seraphim would complete his comeback at No. 6 with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Jai Corbett. Wake’s lead was now 3-1 but Virginia Tech’s Mitch Harper would trim it to 3-2 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Dennis Uspensky at No. 5. Harper broke Uspensky to go up 4-2 in the third and then held onto the break lead to close it out.
 |
| Skander Mansouri (Photo Via WF) |
While Edoardo Tessaro and Romain Bogaerts were on serve in the third at No. 4, Wake’s Skander Mansouri would go break Joao Monteiro to go up 5-3 in the third at No. 1. Mansouri went up 40-15 and hit a first serve that Monteiro blocked back. The wind caught it and started to pull it back towards the net so Mansouri had to rush in and hit a forehand as the ball dipped below the net and he pulled it off with a winner to close it out and give Wake the win.
The remaining match at No. 4 was played with Tessaro getting a late break and then a hold to knock off Bogaerts 6-3 in the third.
Next up for Wake Forest is a Sunday showdown at No. 1 North Carolina.
Wake Forest head coach Tony Bresky, “Virginia Tech is a very strong team, much much better then their current ranking. We knew it would be a difficult match. We got off to a great start with the doubles point but slow starts in singles as we lost 5 first sets. Petros was able to win in straights and we were able to push 4 others to 3rd sets. Christian finished his match off and then Skander played really well towards the end of his match to clinch the team win. Conditions really changed throughout the match and the wind became a big factor, really good preparation for the rest of the season. Should be another great battle on Sunday.”
T-2:42
______________________________________________________________
Fifth-ranked UCLA overcame the loss of the doubles point to defeat No. 36 Stanford 4-1. Stanford took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 but UCLA was just a little too strong in singles.
Logan Staggs set the tone of the day with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Nolan Paige at No. 5 and Karue Sell would make it 2-1 Bruins with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Sameer Kumar at No. 4.
Martin Redlicki made it 3-1 with a 7-5, 7-6(4) win over David Wilczynski at No. 2 and Joseph Di Giulio clinch the match with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Maciek Romanowicz at No. 6.
Joey D rips the winner for the Bruins! DiGiulio takes down Romanowicz 7-6, 6-2 as UCLA defeats Stanford 4-1!! pic.twitter.com/QGd2JwSIxnUCLA Men’s Tennis (@uclatennis) April 2, 2016
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,4,2,6)
Ninth-ranked USC dropped the doubles point against Cal but turned things around in singles to defeat No. 16 Cal 4-2.
Cal took the doubles point with a 6-0 win at No. 1 and a 6-3 win at No. 3 and then each team split opening sets in singles.
Nick Crystal, Logan Smith, and Thibault Forget won in straight sets for USC at 2, 3, and 5 while Cal got a straight set win from Filip Bergevi at 4.
USC senior Max de Vroome would clinch the match with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 win over Florian Lakat at No. 1.
Line 1 singles: Max de Vroome beats Lakat 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. Trojans defeat the Cal Bears 4-2 #usc #usctennis #trojans pic.twitter.com/MyF8OtwSWsUSC Men’s Tennis (@USCMensTennis) April 2, 2016
______________________________________________________________
The biggest upset of the day took place at the site of this year’s NCAA Championships as No. 24 Tulsa took out No. 8 Oklahoma State 4-1. Oklahoma State was down a couple of players with neither Julian Cash or Lukas Finzelberg in the lineup and Tulsa took advantage of the situation.
Tulsa took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 then each team took three first sets in singles. Tulsa got a quick 6-1, 6-1 win from Francois Kellerman over Mateo Ruiz at No. 5 and Majed Kilani would make it 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jurence Mendoza at No. 4.
Lucas Gerch kept Oklahoma State in the match with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win over Juan Matias Gonzalez at No. 2 but Daniel Santos would clinch the win for the Golden Hurricane with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Nathan Roper at No. 6.
Note – Ruiz had only played in 1 dual-match prior to tonight while Roper was playing his fourth dual-match.
Oklahoma State was riding high just a few weeks ago but things seem to have taken a sharp turn in the other direction. The schedule isn’t going to get any easier down the stretch so if the Cowboys can’t rally the troops they’re going to end up going on the road for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Other Friday Scores:
#29 Washington def. Utah 4-3 – UW recap
#39 Oregon def. Arizona 4-0
#4 Ohio State def. #60 Iowa 4-0
#12 Northwestern def. #30 Wisconsin 4-0
#15 Illinois def. Minnesota 4-0
#20 Michigan def. Indiana 4-1
#33 Penn State def. Nebraska 4-3 – PSU recap
#22 Florida State def. #51 Notre Dame 4-3 – FSU recap – Lock 7-6 in the 3rd
#31 Georgia Tech def. #67 Miami 5-2
#75 Duke def. #42 NC State 5-2
Clemson def. Boston College 4-3 – CU recap
#11 Florida def. #43 Vanderbilt 5-2
#14 Arkansas def. #41 Alabama 4-3 – Arky recap – nice comeback
#37 Ole Miss def. #25 Mississippi State 4-3 – Ole Miss recap – record crowd
#44 LSU def. #59 South Carolina 4-3 – LSU recap – two rain delays
#2 TCU def. UT Arlington 4-0
#2 TCU def. #26 Rice 4-1
#18 Oklahoma def. #17 South Florida 4-1
#58 Utah State def. #70 New Mexico 4-3 – USU recap – Swindells 6-4 in 3rd
#68 Loyola Marymount def. #72 Pacific 4-3 – Box Score
#35 Memphis def. #64 Middle Tennessee State 4-1
#54 Pepperdine def. St. Mary’s CA 4-0
#57 East Tennessee State def. Furman 6-1
#69 Boise State def. Air Force 6-1
#49 UC Santa Barbara def. Hawaii 7-0
There are zero posts about Aragone after his loss to Duke. Care to link any posts to the contrary?<br /><br />Personally, I consider injury when explaining other teams' losses, not just Virginia's. E.g. Wake lost to NC State because they were missing two players to Davis Cup. Injury or illness for those two players would have yielded the same result. Maybe NC State fans don't want to hear that, but it is the truth. I like speaking the truth, unlike anonymous posters who lie about what we are saying.
This is quite common for Virginia. If you ever go to their fan forum they will blame injury on every individuals loss. For instance they are now assuming Aragone is injured because he lost 2 in a row.
It should definitely come up some since he only had three rankings prior to this one – just taking a guess that he'll come up maybe 5 or so spots.
Take your shots while you can…Boland will end up being a gracious winner in the end…Besides he subscribes to the Cam "show me a good loser, I'll show you a loser" theory!
Was told he left school to go back on the pro tour.
UNC could have won that match 6-1, really wasn't very close, no one likes to lose but Boland didn't handle that very well.
What has happened to Temur Ismailov at Oklahoma State?
Do you think Altamirano's ranking will move after his win?
The gracious Brian Boland spins today loss by saying congrats to Unc and then launching into a dissertation about his teams injuries and how they were playing a man down. "We are right where we need to be." Indeed.