Virginia Vanquishes Georgia Tech, TCU Trounces Texas Tech, Upcoming Weekend Schedule

Tagged with: Conference Tournaments, Georgia Tech, TCU, Texas Tech, Virginia, Weekend Preview

Third-ranked Virginia had its seniors on display on Thursday against No. 18 Georgia Tech and In front of a senior-day crowd of just under 1000 the Cavs rolled to a 6-1 win. Virginia took the early 1-0 lead after Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Alexander Ritschard broke Georgia Tech to close out a 6-4 win at No. 2. The singles portion of the match was pretty lopsided with Alexander Ritschard, Collin Altamirano, Carl Soderlund, and Henrik Wiersholm each only yielding five total games. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski won the closest match of the day 7-6, 7-6 over ITA No. 5 Chris Eubanks at No. 1 while Georgia Tech scratched out a point with a 6-3, 7-6 win by Daniel Yun at No. 6. 

Virginia has four seniors on the team (Kwiatkowski, Ritschard, Aragone, Luca Corinteli) that have each played a huge role in the Cavaliers winning three national titles in the last four seasons. Virginia did a write-up on the senior class and went through each player’s accolades – you can check that out at this link,  and here are some match highlights from CBS 19, and here are some additional quotes from the Daily Progress. 

#3 Virginia 6, #18 Georgia Tech 1
Apr 13, 2017 at Charlottesville, Va. (Snyder Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #13 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #5 Christopher Eubanks (GT) 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (8-6)
2. Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. #104 Andrew Li (GT) 6-3, 6-2
3. #56 Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Carlos Benito (GT) 6-2, 6-3
4. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Carlos Divar (GT) 6-2, 6-3
5. #82 Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Cole Fiegel (GT) 6-1, 6-4
6. Daniel Yun (GT) def. #115 J.C. Aragone (VA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles competition
1. Christopher Eubanks/Carlos Benito (GT) def. #47 Luca Corinteli/Henrik Wiersholm (VA) 6-3
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Cole Fiegel/Andrew Li (GT) 6-4
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Carlos Divar/Michael Kay (GT) 6-2
Match Notes
Georgia Tech 15-4, 7-2; National ranking #18
Virginia 21-1, 8-1; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,5,4,2,6,1)
T-2:32 A-936

Post-Match Quotes from Virginia’s recap
“I was proud of the way the guys performed today,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “They came out with a lot of energy and played a really tough doubles point which really helped us to get the momentum heading into singles. I thought the guys handled the emotion of Senior Day really well and I was pleased with how focused and disciplined they were throughout the entire match. Credit to Georgia Tech. They are a really good team. They battled in every spot, but we just played some great tennis today.”

Post-Match Quote from GT’s recap
Head Coach Kenny Thorne Says: “Virginia played too well today. They showed why they are the defending national champions. We had an opportunity in doubles and Daniel Yun played a very strong match at number six. They played well at home on senior day. We will get ready for Virginia Tech on Saturday.”

 

 

Ninth-ranked TCU ran its win streak to 10 with a quick 4-0 win over No. 44 Texas Tech in a match that took just over 90 minutes. TCU won the doubles point with 6-3 wins at No. 1 and No. 3 then after taking five of six first sets the Horned Frogs would pick up lopsided straight set wins from Cameron Norrie, Reese Stalder, and Trevor Johnson. 

#9 TCU 4, #44 Texas Tech 0
Apr 13, 2017 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #3 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #33 Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-0, 6-1
2. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) vs. #85 Bjorn Thomson (TT) 6-1, 3-3, unfinished
3. #83 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) vs. Alex Sendegeya (TT) 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
4. #121 Jerry Lopez (TCU) vs. Connor Curry (TT) 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
5. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Pyry Hyrkkonen (TT) 6-2, 6-1
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Jackson Cobb (TT) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #59 Reese Stalder/Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. #12 Connor Curry/Bjorn Thomson (TT) 6-3
2. #29 Guillermo Nuñez/Alex Rybakov (TCU) vs. Jolan Cailleau/Carlos DiLaura (TT) 3-4, unfinished
3. Cameron Norrie/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Jackson Cobb/Alex Sendegeya (TT) 6-3
Match Notes:
Texas Tech 10-13, 0-3 Big 12; National ranking #44
TCU 15-4, 3-0 Big 12; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,1,5)
T-1:45 A-483

 

 

Quotes from TCU’s recap – Head Coach David Roditi
“I am happy that we won today. To beat a team like Texas Tech and the way we did says a lot about the way we are playing. We can’t let that score fool us with the fact that we got away with some really bad performances in doubles in some spots and in singles. For us to accomplish the things we want to accomplish, we need all nine points to be ready to go and compete. We can’t have any kinks in the chain or it is going to cost us.

“We have five days to get ready for a really competitive and tough team at Baylor. It doesn’t get any tougher than playing Baylor at Baylor. We have been there before and we know what to expect. We will be ready for it. We have to come up with a better mindset than we had today. I thought the key today even though it seemed very lopsided was that we must have won 90 percent of the deuce points especially at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. We won so many deuce points and that really made the score seem so lopsided. It is also a good sign for us that we are winning at the bottom of the lineup. That is something that we didn’t have earlier this season. That is a great sign that we are getting healthier and the guys are getting better. Some of the tough circumstances and some of the challenges that we faced earlier this year seem to be helping us in those tough moments. We will continue to do the things that we are doing but the key is to get better. We have to keep getting better.”

 

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Below are some of higher profile/intriguing matches to keep an eye on this weekend. My live scoring page has links for all these matches which you can view if you are a College Tennis Today subscribers – if you haven’t subscribed yet go ahead and make it easier on yourself and sign up today. 

FYI – I will be in College Station later today and will have extended coverage of Saturday’s match between #10 Texas A&M and #11 Georgia.

 

 

 

If you haven’t noticed yet I’ve added a Conference Tournament Central page with a link at the top of the site – I’ll do my best to keep it updated with all the latest results. The SWAC is the only conference tournament this week and then a bunch get fired up next week.