Men’s tennis: No. 1 UVA rallies for 4-3 victory over No. 3 UNC

The UVA men’s tennis team (24-3, 11-1 ACC) advanced to the final of the 2016 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship with a 4-3 victory over North Carolina (25-4, 9-3 ACC) on Saturday (Apr. 23) at the Cary Tennis Center.

The Cavaliers trailed 3-0 in the match when junior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) staved off the threat of a third set, closing out a 6-2, 7-5 victory on court six. After junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) wrapped up a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles, junior J.C. Aragone found himself in a tiebreaker to decide the third set of his match at No. 4. Aragone held a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker, but Robert Kelly tied it up 5-5. Aragone won the final two points to win the tiebreaker 7-5 and take the match 6-3, 3-6, 7-6. Sophomore Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) recovered from losing his first set to win his second 6-2. Wiersholm was up 4-1 in the third when Aragone’s victory tied the overall match score at 3-3. Wiersholm won his final two games to take the third set 6-1 and send the Cavaliers to the ACC finals.

“Congratulations to North Carolina for a great run so far and I know they are going to be a great team in the NCAA Tournament,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I am proud of my guys for coming back from down 3-0. That shows a lot of toughness. I am really pleased with how they managed the weather delay we had in the middle of the match. They got themselves mentally and physically ready to go and came out and won all four matches that we needed. I am really proud of the overall effort and I am looking forward to playing for an ACC Championship tomorrow.”

North Carolina was leading 2-0, having won the doubles point and picked up a victory at No. 1 singles, when a rainstorm came through the area and halted play. After a delay of two hours and 43 minutes, the match resumed with the Tar Heels Ronnie Schneider closing out a 6-2, 6-4 victory over sophomore Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) to put UNC up 3-0.

This was the third time that the top-ranked Cavaliers and No. 3 Tar Heels have met this season. UNC won each of the first two meetings, defeating Virginia in the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February and handing the Cavaliers their only conference during the regular season.

Virginia is vying for its 10th-consecutive ACC championship and will face Wake Forest (28-5, 10-2 ACC) in the final on Sunday, April. 24 at 2 p.m.  Live streaming of the match will be available online on ESPN3 with Patrick McEnroe serving as the lead announcer for the broadcast. Live scoring will also be available ontheacc.com.

The tournament champion will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The complete NCAA Tournament field will be announced on Tuesday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m. in a live-streaming selection show on NCAA.com.

 

#1 UVA 4, #3 North Carolina 3

Singles competition

1. #31 Brayden Schnur (NC) def. #8 Ryan Shane (VA) 6-0, 6-4
2. #30 Ronnie Schneider (NC) def. #40 Collin Altamirano (VA) 6-2, 6-4
3. #6 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. #49 Brett Clark (NC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
4. #116 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. #100 Robert Kelly (NC) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. #114 Jack Murray (NC) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Luca Corinteli (VA) def. Anudeep Kodali (NC) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles competition

1. #3 Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (NC) def. #2 Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) 6-2
2. #32 Brayden Schnur/Jack Murray (NC) def. #17 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (VA) 6-4
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) vs. Ronnie Schneider/Anudeep Kodali (NC) 5-4, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,6,3,4,5)
Match was suspended at 3:47 pm due to rain. Match continued at 6:30 pm