The Virginia men’s tennis team will begin the 2016 season as the No. 1 team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings which were released Tuesday (Jan. 5). It marks the ninth-consecutive year the Cavaliers have been in the preseason top five and the sixth time that the Cavaliers have opened the year as the nation’s top-ranked team.
The defending national champions have five singles players and three doubles teams in the latest individual rankings, also released Tuesday.
Virginia is one of two teams to have two singles players ranked in the top-15. Junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.), who won the ITA All-American singles and doubles championships this fall, will begin the season ranked second in the nation. Senior Ryan Shane (Falls Church, Va.), the reigning NCAA Singles champion, will start the season at No. 11. Additionally, sophomore Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) is No. 72, junior J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Ca.) is No. 74 and sophomore Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) is No. 90, giving the Cavaliers five players with top-100 rankings.
Virginia is the only school with three doubles teams in the top-20. Styslinger and Kwiatkowski, this fall’s ITA All-American doubles champions, will begin the spring ranked fifth. Junior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) and Shane, this fall’s Oracle/ITA Masters doubles champions, are No. 15. Wiersholm and Aragone are ranked No. 18.
The Cavaliers open the spring dual-match season on Sunday, January 31, with a pair of home contests, hosting Kentucky at noon and Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m. at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boars Head Sports Center.
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Chris Graham
