Men’s tennis: No. 1 UVA downs Louisville, 7-0

The No. 1 UVA men’s tennis team (3-0, 1-0 ACC) opened up Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 7-0 road victory at Louisville (4-2, 0-0 ACC) on Sunday (Feb. 5) at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky.

For the second-straight day, junior Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) clinched the victory for Virginia with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Sean Donohue at No. 5 singles.

“This was a complete performance from top to bottom,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Louisville has an excellent team and really fought hard. We competed better with each match this weekend and we are in a good place as we prepare for Florida at home on Saturday. This was a great road trip and exactly what we needed as a team to open the dual match season.”

The Cavaliers picked up the doubles point after a 6-1 victory by Ritschard and senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) at No. 2 followed by a 6-3 win from senior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) and freshman Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) at No. 1.

In singles, senior J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) started things off with a 7-5, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles. Kwiatkowski followed with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 over Parker Wynn. Shortly after Ritschard won his match-clincher at No. 5, junior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) closed out a 6-1, 7-5 victory at No. 6 over Brandon Lancaster. Junior Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) defeated Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff 7-5, 6-4 at No. 1 to give UVA a 6-0 lead. Söderlund finished off the match with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nicolas Rouanet.

Virginia will play its first home match of the season on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. against No. 11 Florida at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boars Head Sports Club. Admission is free for all Virginia home tennis matches.

#1 UVA 7, Louisville 0

Singles competition

1. Collin Altamirano (VA) def. C. Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 7-5, 6-4
2. #39 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Parker Wynn (LOU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Nicholas Rouanet (LOU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. #58 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. George Hedley (LOU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Sean Donohue (LOU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-1, 7-5

Doubles competition

1. Carl Soderlund/Luca Corinteli (VA) def. Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU) 6-3
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. George Hedley/Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-1
3. C. Morin-Kougoucheff/Ciro Lampasas def. Collin Altamirano (VA) J.C. Aragone 7-5

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,2,5,6,1,3)

T-2:39  A-151