Ho-hum. Another brilliant weekend of play for the Virginia men's tennis team. Another ACC regular season championship, the program's eighth consecutive title. A fifth straight undefeated conference season.
All in a weekend's work for the top-ranked Cavaliers.
Virginia began the weekend by clinching the ACC regular season title on Friday, with a 6-1 win over Clemson. With the victory, the Hoos became the first ACC men's tennis program to win at least a share of the regular season title in eight consecutive years. The previous record was seven, by Duke from 1997-2003.
"Overall I felt like we played well," said head coach Brian Boland. "We had to mix up the lineup a little bit again today but some guys stepped up for us. We are going through some adversity that we have never gone through before, but I think that is good. The scores are the same as previous years, but there have been some bigger challenges. Things aren't comfortable for this team and I think that will only help us in the long run by forcing us to improve and play at a higher level."
As if that weren't enough, Virginia rolled over Georgia Tech on Saturday to claim a fifth straight undefeated ACC regular season. The win permitted the Cavaliers (26-0, 11-0 ACC) to extend their ACC-record win streak to 74 consecutive victories over conference competition, and their school-record home winning streak to 87 matches.
"This was a good win over a very good Georgia Tech team," said head coach Brian Boland. "Georgia Tech is No. 15 for a reason and they came out with a lot of energy and gave us a battle. We might not be at 100 percent, but that doesn't take away from the performance of Georgia Tech, who pushed us today. Our guys are competitive and they find a way to get the job done. These matches will only serve to help us in the long run."
The ACC tournament will begin next week, with Virginia opening play on Friday as the #1 seed. The Hoos will be seeking a fifth straight ACC tournament title.
Full results below the fold.
#1 Virginia 6, #62 Clemson 1
Doubles
1. Shabaz/Shane (UVa) def. Rigsby/Y.Maden (CU) 8-3
2. Jenkins/Rooda (UVa) def. DiFazio/Pietrucha (CU) 8-5
3. Uriguen/Villegas (UVa) def. Dettinger/Galloway (CU) 8-4
Singles
1. #8 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. Derek DiFazio (CU) 6-1, 7-5
2. #50 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. Yannick Maden (CU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Kevin Galloway (CU) def. #32 Sanam Singh (UVa) 6-3, 4-6, 12-10
4. Justin Shane (UVa) def. Gerardo Meza (CU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Julen Uriguen (UVa) def. Zachary Rigsby (CU) 6-2, 7-5
6. Santiago Villegas (UVa) def. Cal Hilsman (CU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 1,3,2
Singles: 5,6,1,4,3,2
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#1 Virginia 6, #15 Georgia Tech 1
Doubles
1. Shabaz/Shane (UVa) def. Potvin/Smith (GT) 8-5
2. Gomez/O'Brien (GT) def. Domijan/Rooda (UVa) 8-0
3. Jenkins/Uriguen (UVa) def. King/Muguruza (GT) 9-8(5)
Singles
1. #8 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. #15 Guillermo Gomez (GT) 6-3, 6-4
2. #2 Alex Domijan (UVa) def. Kevin King (GT) 6-2, 7-6(5)
3. #32 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. Eliot Potvin (GT) 6-4, 6-4
4. #50 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. Magin Ortiga (GT) 6-3, 4-6, 10-7
5. Dean O'Brien (GT) def. Justin Shane (UVa) 6-1, 6-3
6. Julen Uriguen (UVa) def. Miguel Muguruza (GT) 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,1,3
Singles: 5,2,6,1,3,4