Men’s tennis: No. 2 Virginia advances to NCAA Round of 16

The Virginia men’s tennis team (30-1) picked up a 4-0 victory over Columbia (18-5) in the 2017 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship Second Round on Saturday (May 13) at the Snyder Tennis Center in Charlottesville, Va.

With the victory, the Cavaliers have earned a trip to the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., where the final 16 teams will compete for the NCAA Championship May 18-23. This is the Cavaliers’ 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA Round of 16.

“I told the guys to make sure to stay in the present and to have a lot of respect for Columbia,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “They are an unbelievable team and a team that definitely could have been in the Sweet 16. They are really strong from top to bottom, so I am really proud of the guys for playing so well. We are excited to get to Athens. It is never easy to get there. I am very proud of the focus that we showed today and very happy that we have advanced.”

The Cavaliers picked up the doubles point after senior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) and freshman Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) started the match with a 6-1 victory at one. Seniors Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland) clinched the point with a 6-3 victory at two.

In singles, the Cavaliers won the first set on five of six courts. The bottom three courts closed out straight-set victories to punch the Cavaliers’ ticket to Athens. Junior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) was the first to finish, picking up a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Timothy Wang on Court 6. Senior J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) downed Adam Ambrozy 6-2, 6-3 on Court 5. For the second-straight match, junior Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) was the player to clinch the victory. Altamirano defeated Alex Keyser 6-3, 6-1 on Court 4.

Virginia, the defending NCAA champion, has won three of the last four NCAA titles (2013, 2015 and 2016) and has reached the semifinals in nine of the last 10 seasons.  UVA has now advanced to the Round of 16 each of the last 14 years and the quarterfinals 12-straight times. The Cavaliers, who have won the ITA National Team Indoor and ACC titles this season, are 57-10 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Brian Boland.

The Cavaliers will play either Florida or Georgia Tech on Thursday, May 18 at 9 a.m. in the Round of 16. Live scoring and live video streaming will be available for the match.

 

#2 Virginia 4, #23 Columbia 0

Singles competition

1. #91 Alexander Ritschard (VA) vs. #101 Shawn Hadavi (COL2017) 6-2, 1-6, unfinished
2. #14 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) vs. #57 Victor Pham (COL2017) 7-5, 4-1, unfinished
3. Carl Soderlund (VA) vs. Jackie Tang (COL2017) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished
4. #40 Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Alex Keyser (COL2017) 6-3, 6-1
5. #109 J.C. Aragone (VA) def. Adam Ambrozy (COL2017) 6-2, 6-3
6. #102 Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Timothy Wang (COL2017) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #17 Luca Corinteli/Carl Soderlund (VA) def. #65 Victor Pham/Richard Pham (COL2017) 6-1
2. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Alexander Ritschard (VA) def. Shawn Hadavi/Jackie Tang (COL2017) 6-3
3. J.C. Aragone/Collin Altamirano (VA) vs. Christopher Grant/Michal Rolski (COL2017) 5-4, unfinished

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

T-1:44 A-592