Men’s Tennis: No. 14 Virginia downs No. 21 Notre Dame, 6-1

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 14 Virginia men’s tennis team (9-5, 3-0 ACC) opened the weekend with a 6-1 victory against No. 21 Notre Dame (10-5, 2-1 ACC) on Friday at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.

The Cavaliers won the doubles point and picked up five singles victories to take a 6-0 lead before the Irish secured a win on court five to earn its lone point.

In doubles, sophomores Iñaki Montes and Alexander Kiefer opened the match with a 6-3 win on court three. Seniors Gianni Ross and William Woodall clinched the point with a 6-2 win on court two.

In singles, Kiefer again started things off for the Cavaliers with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court six to give UVA a 2-0 lead. Ross and senior Ryan Goetz followed with wins on courts four and three to clinch the victory for the Cavaliers. Montes finished off a 6-3, 6-2 victory on court two to make it 5-0. Sophomore Chris Rodesch battled for a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win on court one against No. 44 Axel Nefve to make it 6-0. Woodall was edged 6-4, 7-6 (4) by Peter Conklin as Notre Dame picked up a point to finish the match.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“Great effort from the guys today. Very consistent as far as the way we competed and the way we played on all the courts. Really happy for Alex Kiefer to come in and get a win at six and also at three doubles. I thought he played great today. Today was another day that we built. We built the way we compete, the way we look out there, the way we deal with adversity. I thought it was a great team effort. We’re already looking forward to Sunday and taking on Louisville.”

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers close out the weekend by hosting Louisville at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 13
• The match is scheduled to be played on the outdoor courts of the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort, but please monitor the Virginia Tennis social media accounts for potential weather-related changes.

#14 Virginia 6, #21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1

Singles competition

1. #15 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #44 Axel Nefve (ND-M) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
2. #46 Inaki Montes (VA) def. Aditya Vashistha (ND-M) 6-3, 6-2
3. #54 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Matthew Che (ND-M) 6-1, 6-2
4. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Connor Fu (ND-M) 6-3, 6-3
5. Peter Conklin (ND-M) def. William Woodall (VA) 6-4, 7-6 (4)
6. Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Jean-Marc Malkowski (ND-M) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. #11 Chris Rodesch/Ryan Goetz (VA) vs. #42 Matthew Che/Axel Nefve (ND-M) 4-5, unfinished
2. Gianni Ross/William Woodall (VA) def. Peter Conklin/Matthew Halpin (ND-M) 6-2
3. Inaki Montes/Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Connor Fu/Jean-Marc Malkowski (ND-M) 6-3

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

T-2:53 A-217