The two biggest matches of the day didn’t end up being as close as I thought with both No. 1 Virginia and No. 6 Georgia rolling to victories over No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 12 Arkansas.
Virginia won its 13h straight regular season ACC Championship with a 5-2 win over Wake Forest in front of over 1100 fans. It looked like Wake Forest might take the early lead but Virginia was able to hang on in doubles. Wake’s Romain Bogaerts and Dennis Uspensky won 6-2 at No. 3 but Virginia’s Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mac Styslinger would break on the deciding point to go up 5-3 at No. 2. Kwiatkowski went up 40-0 on his 5-3 service but would double fault two times in a row to make it 40-30. Kwiatkowski would land a first set and then a Styslinger volley at the net would force a Wake error to clinch the 6-3 win.
The doubles point would be decided at No. 1 between Virginia’s Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli and Wake’s Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim. Wake led 6-5 and had two match points on the Corinteli serve but Shane hit a volley winner after a nice serve out wide and then a Corinteli service winner made it 6-6. Virginia jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak but Wake won four of the next five points to pull within *5-4. Shane hit a service winner to make it 6-4 but a double fault would put it back on serve at 6-5*. Mansouri fought off a match point by hitting a service winner on his second serve and then he hit another service winner to put Wake up 7-6. Corinteli fought off a match point with a sensational volley winner after coming in on a second serve and then he hit a service winner to go up 8-7. The volley winner by Corinteli was on service return that was right around his waist and it looked like it jammed him up but he was still able to steer the ball into the alley for the winner.. Seraphim would then double fault to give Virginia the 7-6(7) win.
Virginia won lopsided first sets on the top four courts but Wake would fight back to force a third set on three of them. The only court to finish in straight sets was at No. 1 with Ryan Shane cruising past Skander Mansouri 6-1, 6-2.
J.C. Aragone got off to a quick start with a 6-0 first set at No. 4 but Wake’s Romain Bogaerts would force a third set after taking the second 6-3. Aragone went up an early break in the third and pulled away to win it 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.
Virginia sophomore Henrik Wiersholm would clinch the match with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over Christian Seraphim at No. 5. Wiersholm clinched Virginia’s earlier win over Wake with a net cord ace but this time there was no net cord involved as he hammered an ace down the T to seal it.
The other three matches were played with Virginia’s Thai-Son Kwiatkowski beat Jon 6-3 in the third while Wake picked up three set wins from Petros Chrysochos and Dennis Uspensky at No. 2 and No. 6. Chrysochos trailed Altamirano 1-6, 3-5 and then after getting it to a tiebreak he fell behind 1-4 before taking the second set tiebreak 7-5.
#1 Virginia 5, #7 Wake Forest 2
Apr 15, 2016 at Charlottesville, Va. (Snyder Tennis Center)
“This was a big match for us and I am really proud of how the players played,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Winning the doubles point gave us a huge amount of momentum as it was really close, coming down to the wire. We followed that by getting off to an unbelievable start in singles. We were rolling and just really took advantage of that momentum, which carried just far enough into the match for us to get five points. We lost a couple of points at the end that were really competitive, but overall it was a great day.”
“I am so grateful to all of the fans,” Boland said. “I have always said we have the best fans in college tennis. They proved that today. There is a lot of support here in Charlottesville and among the student body for what these guys do and the hard work they put in. I was excited for our guys to be able to play in this environment.”
Georgia won its 39th SEC Championship with a 5-2 win on the road at No. 12 Arkansas. The Bulldogs took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 then the teams split opening sets in singles.
Georgia’s Austin Smith, Paul Oosterbaan, and Nick Wood each won in straight sets with Oosterbaan clinching the match at No. 3 with a 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Santiago Munoz.
Arkansas picked up straight set wins from Giammarco Micolani and Adam Sanjurgo at No. 4 and No. 5 while Georgia’s Wayne Montgomery in three sets over Jose Salazar with a 10-point supertiebreak played in lieu of a third set.
#6 Georgia 5, #12 Arkansas 2
Apr 15, 2016 at Fayetteville, Ark. (Billingsley Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #24 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #26 Mike Redlicki (AR) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3
2. #34 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. #76 Jose Salazar (AR) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9)
3. #91 Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Santiago Munoz (AR) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
“I’m very proud of our guys,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “They battled very hard today against a very good Arkansas team. We played very well in doubles and that took a little pressure off of our guys going into singles, but Arkansas just didn’t let it get away. We were really forced to dig deep and once again this team refused to go away under pressure. Arkansas stepped it up in singles, but I’m really proud of this bunch and they have a lot to be proud of themselves. ________________________________________________________
North Carolina looked like it was in trouble for most of the day but Ronnie Schneider bailed the guys out with a come from behind victory to give the Tar Heels a 4-3 win over No. 30 Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 and then the Yellow Jackets took four opening sets in singles. Daniel Yun beat Jack Murray in straight sets at No. 4 to make it 2-0 GT but UNC’s Robert Kelly and Brett Clark tied the match at 2-2 with straight sets wins at No. 5 and No. 3.
Georgia Tech sophomore Christopher Eubanks defeated Brayden Schnur 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to make it 3-2 GT but UNC freshman Anu Kodali tied it at 3-3 with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Andrew Li at No. 6.
Schneider would break GT’s Carlos Benito to go up 4-3 in the third and then he’d close it out a few games later.
#5 North Carolina 4, #30 Georgia Tech 3
Apr 15, 2016 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
“We knew we had to come out and win for the seniors, said UNC junior Ronnie Schneider, whose three-set win at No. 2 clinched the victory for the Tar Heels. “They’ve meant so much to the program and we’ll never be able to thank them enough.
“I wanted to do something, he said of the gesture, which he’d planned ahead of time. “This place as been really good to me over the last four years. It’s been a fun ride but it’s not over yet.
“I’m really happy for this senior group to get a W’ on Senior Day, UNC coach Sam Paul said. “Georgia Tech’s got a good team. We knew that coming in, we knew it was going to be a fight. We dug a bit of a hole with the doubles and I wasn’t happy with that, but then we came back and our kids showed a lot of fight. I’m just really happy for our senior class they’ve meant a lot to our program.
“We’re never happy with a loss, but I’m always proud of a team that believes and fights to the end,” said head coach Kenny Thorne. “We came into the senior day match of the reigning national indoor champions and came up a few points short. We have played better as the season has progressed, which is always the goal. Now post-season begins, and we will continue to commit to your game.” ______________________________________________________________ Florida all but locked up the No. 2 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament with a 7-0 win over No. 20 Kentucky. The Gators took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 and then they won all six singles matches though four of them went the distance. #13 Florida 7, #20 Kentucky 0
April 15, 2016 at Gainesville, FL (Ring Tennis Complex)
Singles Competition
1. #13 Diego Hidalgo (FLA) def. #31 William Bushamuka (UK) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (13,4,5,2,6)
Post-Match Quotes from head coach Bryan Shelton via Florida’s recap
“You want to keep improving and getting better every match, regardless of the score or the situation and you want to treat everything as an opportunity. Tonight was a great opportunity to outplay a Top-20 program.
“Kentucky has a very talented team. Although the score was 7-0, both the singles and doubles matches were very tight. In singles play, 4-of-6 matches went into a third set. It says a lot about our guys and our toughness.
“To play and win like we did tonight, with the ball blowing around the court, footwork, concentration, and focus were important. Making sure we were aware of not only the opponent, but also how to deal with the wind out here was key. I thought our guys did a great job of that tonight.”
South Florida locked up the No. 1 seed in next week’s AAC Tournament with a 7-0 thrashing over No. 24 Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane played without its No. 1, Or Ram-Harel, and ended up being no match for the charging Bulls. South Florida won at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and then swept all six singles matches with five of six finishing in straight sets.
#19 South Florida 7, #24 Tulsa 0
April 15, 2016 at Tulsa, OK (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. Robert Cid (USF) defeated Juan Matias-Gonzalez (Tulsa), 6-1, 6-4
2. Sasha Gozun (USF) defeated Carlos Bautista (Tulsa), 6-4, 6-4
3. Bautista/Kilani (Tulsa) vs. Cid/Gonzalez (USF), DNF 5-5
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,5,2,3,4,6)
Tulsa 14-12; National ranking #24
South Florida 16-8; National ranking #19 _________________________________________________________
Oklahoma State picked up a huge 4-1 win tonight over No. 10 Texas Tech and in the process most likely locked down a spot as a regional host at next month’s NCAA Tournament.
The Cowboys welcomed back Julian Cash to the mix and he delivered in both singles and doubles. Cash and Arjun Kadhe won the deciding match at No. 1 doubles 7-6(5) and then Cash beat Felipe Soares in straight sets at No. 1 singles.
Jurence Mendoza came back from a set down to clinch the match with a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Connor Curry at No. 5.
MANGO MAGIC!!!! The crowd erupts as Mendoza clinches the match with a 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 victory on Court 5! #okstatepic.twitter.com/HL5qAvdpvr
“Overall, we got outcompeted tonight,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “There were certain situations and certain points that we need to do a better job at of handling our business. We need to bounce back, and we need to learn quickly from our mistakes tonight because we face a red hot Oklahoma team on Sunday.” ________________________________________________________
Northwestern took the doubles point over No. 21 Michigan then picked up straight sets wins from Konrad Zieba, Sam Shropshire, and Ben Vandixhorn. Michigan’s Kevin Wong earned the Wolverines lone point.
#15 Northwestern 4, #21 Michigan 1
Apr 15, 2016 at Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Singles Competition
1. #15 Konrad Zieba (NU) def. #112 Alex Knight (MICH) 6-3, 7-5
2. #41 Sam Shropshire (NU) def. #93 Jathan Malik (MICH) 6-2, 6-3
3. #73 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) vs. Carter Lin (MICH) 6-3, 5-5, unfinished
“We played with a lot of energy in doubles and really throughout the entire match,” head coach Arvid Swan said. “All the matches were close, but it was good to see the top of the lineup get points for us.”
“I’m extremely grateful to the folks coming out,” Swan said. “It’s incredible to have such support. It makes a huge difference in terms of our performance
Other Friday Scores:
#40 Virginia Tech def. Miami 6-1 Clemson def. #64 Duke 4-3 Louisville def. Boston College 6-1
#25 Columbia def. #46 Princeton 4-0 #55 Cornell def. Penn 4-1 #36 Dartmouth def. Brown 6-1 #48 Harvard def. Yale 5-2
#50 UC Santa Barbara def. #69 UC Davis 6-1 #61 BYU def. #56 Pepperdine 4-2 #68 Boise State def. San Diego State 4-1 Air Force def. Fresno State 4-2
#3 Ohio State def. Minnesota 4-0 #17 Illinois def. Michigan State 4-0 #39 Penn State def. #47 Wisconsin 4-2 #59 Purdue def. #67 Iowa 4-1 #70 Indiana def. Nebraska 4-2
#8 Oklahoma def. #37 Baylor 4-0
#11 Texas A&M def. #33 LSU 5-2 #32 Ole Miss def. #58 South Carolina 4-2 #63 Auburn def. Tennessee 6-1 #45 Vanderbilt def. #23 Mississippi State 4-2
2 Comments
181
on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm
Great match, we got lucky to pull out the doubles point, but we played outstanding in singles. Awesome crowd, had to be close to 500/600 fans. I hope we play as well against Miami tomorrow.
181
on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:18 pm
Remember a couple of weeks ago? Everyone went Bill Murray"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" about the no-ad scoring. Well UVA just won the ACC and is #1 in the country. In the end, talent prevails.
Great match, we got lucky to pull out the doubles point, but we played outstanding in singles. Awesome crowd, had to be close to 500/600 fans. I hope we play as well against Miami tomorrow.
Remember a couple of weeks ago? Everyone went Bill Murray"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" about the no-ad scoring. Well UVA just won the ACC and is #1 in the country. In the end, talent prevails.