Men’s Tennis: No. 6 Virginia blanks Virginia Tech, 4-0

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 6 Virginia men’s tennis team (18-5, 11-0 ACC) picked up a 4-0 victory at Virginia Tech (6-16, 2-9 ACC) in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Wednesday at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va.

The Hokies held an early advantage after winning 6-1 on the top doubles court, but sophomore Iñaki Montes and senior Ryan Goetz evened things with a 6-4 win on court two. Sophomore Alexander Kiefer and senior Gianni Ross won a close match on court three, 7-5, to take the point.

In singles, grad student Bar Botzer posted a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory against Michael Shepheard on court four to give UVA a 2-0 advantage. Goetz finished off a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Hugo Maia on court three a few minutes later to make it 3-0. Ross clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Carlo Donato on court five.

MATCH NOTES

• Virginia has won its last 13 matches
• The updated ITA Team Rankings were announced earlier today. The Cavaliers moved up two spots to No. 6 from last week’s No. 8 ranking
• Alexander Kiefer was leading his match on court six 6-3, 5-3 when play was halted

SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH

• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
• Virginia picked up one point in the Clash with today’s win. The Hokies currently lead 9.5-4.5

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia closes out the regular season by taking on Boston College on Sunday, Apr. 17 at 1 p.m. at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Sports Club
• Sunday’s match is the Cavaliers’ Senior Day with fifth-years Jackson Allen, Jefferson Dockter and Gianni Ross being honored in a pregame ceremony at 12:50 p.m.

#6 Virginia 4, Virginia Tech 0

Singles competition

1. #110 Ryan Fishback (VT) vs. #37 Inaki Montes (VA) 6-4, 2-4, unfinished
2. Alvaro Ariza (VT) vs. #24 J vd Schulenburg (VA) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
3. #77 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 6-1, 6-3
4. Bar Botzer (VA) def. Michael Shepheard (VT) 6-0, 6-1
5. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Carlo Donato (VT) 6-4, 6-2
6. Scott Sculley (VT) vs. Alexander Kiefer (VA) 3-6, 3-5, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. #19 Jordan Chrysostom/Ryan Fishback (VT) def. #44 Chris Rodesch/Bar Botzer (VA) 6-1
2. Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Alvaro Ariza/Scott Sculley (VT) 6-4
3. Alexander Kiefer/Gianni Ross (VA) def. Alberto Orso/Matt Harper (VT) 7-5

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