Men’s Tennis: No. 8 Virginia wins 4-2 at No. 12 Kentucky

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 8 Virginia men’s tennis team (15-5, 8-0 ACC) picked up a 4-2 victory at No. 12 Kentucky (15-5, 6-1 SEC) on Thursday at the Hilary J Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky.

The Cavaliers dropped the doubles point but picked up four singles victories to win the match. Grad student Bar Botzer clinched the victory on court five.

Sophomore Chris Rodesch and Botzer opened the match with a 6-3 win on doubles court two. The Wildcats evened it up with a 6-4 win on court one. Court three needed a tiebreaker to decide the outcome, with Kentucky’s Liam Draxl and Alexandre LeBlanc edging fifth-year senior Gianni Ross and sophomore Jeffrey von der Schulenburg 10-8 to take the point.

In singles, senior Ryan Goetz raced to a 6-4, 6-2 win on court four to tie the match 1-1.  Rodesch won 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3 on court two to put UVA ahead 2-1. Von der Schulenburg topped No. 9 Gabriel Diallo 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to give UVA a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Iñaki Montes faced last year’s NCAA Singles finalist Draxl on the top court. Montes won the first set 6-2, but Draxl countered with a 6-2 win in the second set and then edged Montes 7-5 in the third set to make the score 3-2.

With only four indoor courts at the Boone Tennis Complex, Botzer’s match began after the completion of Goetz’s match. He topped No. 95 Joshua Lapadat 6-1, 6-4 to close out the victory.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“Great team effort by our guys. We had many chances to get that doubles point and it somehow didn’t go our way. However, that did not phase our guys and we came out determined to fight the whole way through. This team keeps getting stronger, tougher and more mature. We are battle-tested and we hope we experience more matches like these in the coming weeks. The tougher the better for our team.”

MATCH NOTES

• Virginia has won its last 10 matches
• Gianni Ross was up 6-1, 1-1 on court six when play was halted
• The match against Kentucky was originally scheduled for Feb. 4 but was postponed due to a snowstorm
• Jeffrey von der Schulenburg handed Gabriel Diallo his first singles loss of the spring

ON THE HORIZON

• The Cavaliers are on the road next weekend, playing at Florida State on Friday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m. and at Miami on Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m.

#8 Virginia 4, #12 Kentucky 2

Singles competition

1. #94 Liam Draxl (UK) def. #29 Inaki Montes (VA) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. #16 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #114 Millen Hurrion (UK) 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3
3. #59 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. #9 Gabriel Diallo (UK) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. #75 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #61 Francois Musitelli (UK) 6-4, 6-2
5. Bar Botzer (VA) def. #95 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 6-1, 6-4
6. JJ Mercer (UK) vs. Gianni Ross (VA) 1-6, 1-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Millen Hurrion/Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) 6-4
2. #51 Chris Rodesch/Bar Botzer (VA) def. Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) 6-3
3. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Gianni Ross/J vd Schulenburg (VA) 7-6 (10-8)

T: 3:55

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