Men’s tennis: No. 1 UVA tops No. 6 Florida 5-2

The top-ranked UVA men’s tennis team (4-0, 1-0 ACC) picked up a 5-2 victory over No. 6 Florida (6-1, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday (Feb. 11) at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers picked up with doubles point and won the first four singles matches in their first home match of the season. Senior J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) clinched the victory by winning 6-4, 7-5 over No. 76 McClain Kessler at No. 4 singles.

“What a tremendous environment. We appreciated our fans coming out and supporting us in our home opener,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Picking up a victory over a top Florida team that challenged us last year was a great way to start our home matches. I thought we came out and played pretty well in doubles. That was something we struggled with last week, but we turned that around and played better, at three-doubles in particular. That gave us a boost that carried through pretty well in singles. Florida is a team that will be contending to win the SEC and vie for a national championship, so this certainly was a good test for us. I think we are in a really good spot right now, but there is always more work to do.”

Aragone and junior Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) opened the match with a 6-2 victory at No. 3 doubles. Senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and junior Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) picked up a 6-3 victory at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point.

In singles junior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) started things off with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Maxx Lipman at court six. Kwiatkowski defeated Chase Perez-Blanco 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 to put Virginia up 3-0 over the Gators. A few minutes after Aragone clinched the match at four, freshman Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) made it 5-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 60 Elliott Orkin at No. 3. The Gators closed out the match with victories at No. 5 and No. 1 singles.

The Cavaliers will be back in action on Valentine’s Day, hosting No. 17 Illinois (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boars Head Sports Center. Admission is free for all Virginia home tennis matches.

For the second-straight year, Virginia will also be hosting the ITA National Team Indoor championship, a tournament UVA has won five of the last nine years, at the Boar’s Head Sports Club from Feb. 17-20. The event features 16 teams: the 15 schools who won both of their matches during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and the host school. The tournament is held over four days, and begins on Friday with first-round play, followed by quarterfinals on Saturday, semifinals on Sunday and the championship match on Monday.

 

#1 UVA 5, #6 Florida 2

Singles competition

1. #9 Alfredo Perez (FLA) def. Collin Altamirano (VA) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
2. #28 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) 6-4, 6-2
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #60 Elliott Orkin (FLA) 6-2, 6-2
4. #64 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. #76 McClain Kessler (FLA) 6-4, 7-5
5. #109 Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) def. Alexander Ritschard (VA) 6-2, 0-6, 6-3
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Maxx Lipman (FLA) 6-4, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. #55 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) vs. #7 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) 3-4, unfinished
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco/Maxx Lipman (FLA) 6-3
3. Collin Altamirano/J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Elliott Orkin/McClain Kessler (FLA) 6-2

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

T-2:23 A-614