Men’s tennis: Virginia downs TCU 4-1 in ITA National Indoor Semifinals

The top-seeded Virginia men’s tennis team (8-0) defeated No. 2 TCU, 4-1, in the semifinals of the 2016 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s Team Indoor Championship on Sunday (Feb. 14) at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

The Cavaliers lead the match 3-1 after winning the doubles point and adding victories at third and sixth singles. Senior Mac Styslinger (Birmingham, Ala.) clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-4 over TCU’s Eduardo Nava on the No. 4 court.

“All of us players live for this, being able to close out a match and put the team in the finals,” Styslinger said. “[Henrik Wiersholm] got us off to a strong start and then Collin [Altamirano] got the third point. It was really cool to be the one to give us the fourth point. I was just playing my game today. [Nava] is a really good player, so I knew I was going to have to play some good tennis out there.”

Virginia will be playing for its sixth ITA National Team Indoors title on Monday, Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. when it takes on third-seeded North Carolina (8-0) in the championship match. This is North Carolina’s first-ever trip to the championship match.

“I think it says a lot about the ACC,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “Wake Forest played a tremendous match against us (Saturday) and obviously the success that UNC has had. I’m really just proud to be a part of the conference and excited to play, in the final regardless of the opponent. It’s always the goal is to give yourself a chance and tomorrow will be another opportunity for these young men that have worked so hard, and I hope the fans come out again in big numbers.”

The Cavaliers opened the match by winning the doubles point after junior J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and sophomore Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) won 6-3 at No. 3. Junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) and Styslinger followed with a 6-3 win at No. 2.

In singles, freshman Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) gave Virginia a quick 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 6 over Trevor Johnson. Altamirano’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over Guillermo Nuñez at No. 3 put Virginia up 3-0. TCU’s Cameron Norrie downed Shane 7-5, 7-5 on the top singles court before Styslinger ended the match with his victory at No. 4.

TCU was the five-seed in the tournament, but is ranked No. 2 in the latest ITA national rankings. North Carolina was the tournament’s No. 3 seed, but is currently ranked seventh in the nation. The Cavaliers are the top-ranked team in the country and were the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

The ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship dates back to 1973. Stanford owns the most ITA Indoors titles with 12, followed by UCLA with seven and the Cavaliers with five championships.

 

No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 2 TCU 1

Doubles

1. Ryan Shane/Luca Corinteli (VA) vs. Cameron Norrie/Trevor Johnson (TCU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Mac Styslinger/Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) def. Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-3
3. J.C. Aragone/Collin Altamirano (VA) def. Guillermo Nuñez/Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-3

Singles

1. #6 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #27 Ryan Shane (VA) 7-5, 7-5
2. #2 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (VA) vs. #122 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 7-5, 4-5, unfinished
3. Collin Altamirano (VA) def. #38 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 6-1, 6-4
4. #78 Mac Styslinger (VA) def. Eduardo Nava (TCU) 6-4, 6-4
5. J.C. Aragone (VA) vs. Jerry Lopez (TCU) 7-6, 2-5, unfinished
6. Henrik Wiersholm (VA) def. Trevor Johnson (TCU) 6-0, 6-2

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