‘Hoos News: Men’s Tennis Highlights Action-Packed Weekend for UVA Olympic Sports Teams

Posted on Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, 7:00 am

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Courtesy UVA Sports Media Relations

The Virginia men’s tennis team begins play at the 2019 ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship on Friday. The first team national championship of the year is being held at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Ill., and runs from Friday to Monday.

Live scoring and live video will be available for the matches through links posted on VirginiaSports.com.

First round matches take place on Friday, with quarterfinal and consolation draw matches scheduled for Saturday. Sunday will be main-draw semifinals and backdraw matches with the championship to be contested on Monday at 1 p.m. E.T.

Virginia (7-1, 2-1 ACC) earned the No. 8 seed in the tournament and will face ninth-seeded Stanford on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The ITA Division I National Men’s Team Indoor Championship is in its 44th year of existence. Fifteen teams qualified for the event by winning their respective 2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend four-team regional, while Illinois received an automatic bid for being the host site. The teams will compete in a single-elimination tournament over a four-day span to crown a national indoor champion. Each team is guaranteed three matches at the event.

The Cavaliers have won six ITA National Team Indoor Championships, including four-straight from 2008 to 2011 and most recently in 2017 when the tournament was held in Charlottesville as well as the 2009 title when it was held in this same location in Chicago. UVA has made eight appearances in the finals. Only Stanford (12) and UCLA (7) have won more ITA Indoors titles than Virginia.

Virginia advanced to the championship after downing Cal (4-2) and host-team Texas A&M (4-3) during ITA Kickoff Weekend at the end of January. The Cavaliers have won three-straight matches heading into the tournament, including toppling No. 1 Wake Forest, 5-2, last Friday in Charlottesville.

Freshman Brandon Nakashima was named the ACC Men’s Tennis Singles Player of the Week for his performances against Wake Forest and Boston College. Nakashima played an important role in the Cavaliers’ 5-2 victory over top-ranked Wake Forest, taking down No. 21 Bar Botzer in straight-sets on court three. In Sunday’s sweep at Boston College, Nakashima faced Derek Austin on the top court, handing Austin his first loss of the dual season, 6-3, 6-2.

This is Nakashima’s first conference honor. It is the second time this season a Cavalier has been named the ACC Men’s Tennis Singles Player of the Week as junior Carl Soderlund earned the accolade on Jan. 29.

Soderlund is undefeated in singles this spring, with a 7-0 overall record, picking up four wins on the top court and three on court two. Söderlund capped the Wake Forest match with a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Borna Gojo at No. 1 singles.

Ohio State is the top seed in the tournament. The rest of the field (in order of seeding) includes No. 2 Mississippi State, No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Stanford, No. 10 Baylor, No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 12 Illinois, No. 13 USC, No. 14 Columbia, No. 15 TCU and No. 16 Tulane.

Tickets are $10 per person, per day for any non-Midtown Chicago member. Fans who are staying in The Hotel at Midtown are considered members and therefore will not be charged for the event. Parking is located directly across the street from the club and is also $10 per day.

Men’s Lax Home Opener vs. Lehigh Moved to Friday Night

Virginia (0-1) hosts the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1-1) on Friday evening at Klöckner Stadium. UVA is ranked No. 11 in this week’s USILA coaches and Inside Lacrosse/Maverick media polls. Lehigh is receiving votes in both polls.

The game, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 16, was moved up a day because of a forecast for inclement weather on Saturday. Faceoff is set for 5 p.m.

Fans with tickets for the game that cannot attend because of the rescheduled time may:

(a) exchange their ticket in advance for a General Admission ticket to any other regular season game by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 542-8821 during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.

(b) bring their ticket stubs to the gate for General Admission seating at any remaining regular season home game, subject to seat availability at the time of arrival, or

(c) exchange their ticket for a General Admission ticket to a Virginia men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, baseball, women’s basketball, men’s soccer and / or women’s soccer games within the calendar year based on availability. This exchange can happen through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in advance or at the ticket window of that facility on game day.

There is a “Clear Bag” policy in place at Klöckner Stadium. Please click here to view Klöckner Stadium FAQs regarding bag and entry policies.

Parking for Friday’s game will be available on a first-come first-served basis in the University Hall and John Paul Jones Arena parking lots. Parking will also be available at the Emmet/Ivy Garage.

Live stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, which can be viewed on the WatchESPN app, or by logging onto ESPN3.com. Luke Neer will call the play-by-play and Doug Tarring will provide analysis.

Friday marks the first meeting between UVA and Lehigh in men’s lacrosse. UVA head coach Lars Tiffany owns a 3-0 all-time record against the Mountain Hawks, winning two games as the head coach at Brown and one more as the head coach at Stony Brook. Lehigh is the first of three first-time opponents the Cavaliers have on the schedule in 2019. UVA will host Utah on March 31 and Marist on April 20. The last time UVA had at least three first-time opponents on its schedule was 2005.

Matt Moore leads UVA with in points with five (three goals, two assists). Michael Kraus leads the Cavaliers with three assists and is second on the team with four points. Dox Aitken is tied with Moore for the team lead with three goals. Ryan Conrad rounds out the top scorers with three points on one goal and two assists. Alex Rode is saving 26.1 percent of shots he is seeing between the pipes, while posting an 18.35 goals against average.

Lehigh is coached by Kevin Cassese, who is in his 12th season running the Mountain Hawks’ program. The Mountain Hawks return 40 student-athletes from last year’s 10-7 squad that lost to Loyola in the Patriot League championship game. Lucas Spence leads Lehigh with four assists and six points. Mickey Fitzpatrick leads Lehigh with four goals and is second on the team with five points. Andrew Eichelberger rounds out the top scorers with three goals. James Spence is saving 67.9 percent of shots he is seeing between the pipes and posting a 4.95 goals against average.

Virginia returns to action on Monday when High Point comes to Klöckner Stadium for a non-conference tilt. The game will faceoff at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

Tickets for Virginia home lacrosse games can be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone at (800) 542-8821 or in person at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Advanced tickets are $8 (reserved) and $5 (general admission). Tickets at the gate will be $10 (reserved) and $8 (general admission).

Virginia Heads to Elon for Five Games

Virginia softball (0-5) returns to action over the weekend as the Cavaliers head to the Elon Softball February Classic. The Cavaliers will take on Northern Kentucky twice, Hampton, NC Central and host Elon during the tournament.

THE SCHEDULE

Friday, Feb. 15 – 10 a.m. | vs. Northern Kentucky (0-0)

Friday, Feb. 15 – 12:15 p.m. | vs. Hampton (0-0)

Saturday, Feb. 16 – 12:15 p.m. | at Elon (4-1)

Sunday, Feb. 17 – 10 a.m. | vs. Northern Kentucky

Sunday, Feb. 17 – 12:15 p.m. | vs. NC Central (1-3)

GAME COVERAGE

Fans can follow the action with live stats for all five games. Links to live stats are available at VirginiaSports.com. There is no streaming for any of the games this weekend.

HOO TO WATCH

• Senior Erika Osherow was electric both in the circle and at the plate to open 2019.
• After a tough junior campaign in the circle, Osherow was stellar in three starts on opening weekend, working 16 innings with a 1.75 ERA.
• Opponents hit just .175 off Osherow and she fanned 13 batters while issuing just four walks.
• At the plate, the veteran hit .375 with a double, triple and home run. She added four RBI to tie for the team lead.

ROOKIE DEBUTS

• Eight freshmen made their collegiate debuts for the Cavaliers on opening weekend.
• Shortstop Arizona Ritchie leads Virginia with a .400 batting average.
• Donna Friedman made four starts and hit .357 with a pair of doubles and two RBI on opening weekend.
• In the circle, Clare Zureich and Aly Rayle both made their collegiate debuts.
• Outfielder Bailey Winscott and infielder Abigail Barber both picked up their first collegiate hits.

MOLLY ON THE RUN

• Sophomore Molly Keshin was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases on opening weekend. The total puts her halfway to eclipsing last year’s high of 10 for a Virginia player (Allison Davis).
• The five steals already eclipse Keshin’s total of four from the 2018 campaign. No Virginia player has surpassed more than 15 stolen bases since Giannina Cippolloni swiped 31 in 2012.
• Keshin’s five swipes came in just four games, making her the ACC leader and seventh nationally in stolen bases per game.

THE FOES

• Virginia and Northern Kentucky will meet for the first time ever this weekend. Friday’s game is the season opener for the Norse.
• The Cavaliers are 3-2 all-time against Hampton after the Pirates swept a doubleheader last season.
• Virginia owns a 10-3 lead in the all-time series with Elon. The Phoenix are 4-1 to open 2019.
• The series between Virginia and NC Central is tied 1-1.

Cavaliers to Sit Out of Weekend Meets; Guy and Scott Earn ACC Honors

In preparation of the ACC Indoor Championships, the Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams will not travel to the JDL DMR Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., or the Alex Wilson Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind. The Cavaliers were scheduled to compete at both competitions on Saturday.

The Cavaliers will use the time to prepare for next week’s (Feb. 21-23) ACC Championships in Blacksburg.

Junior Jordan Scott and redshirt senior Bridget Guy were named the ACC Field Performers of the Week, the league office announced on Wednesday.

Scott set an ACC and school record in the triple jump over the weekend, as the junior competed at the Tiger Paw Invitational. Scott opened the event with a record-setting jump of 16.87m (55’4.25″), before topping the performance in the fourth round with a mark of 16.90m (55’5.5″). Scott would pass on his remaining two attempts, taking a second-place finish in the event and recording the second-best national mark this season.

For the third week in a row, Guy set a UVA record in the pole vault. The redshirt senior cleared a height of 4.38m (14’4.5″) on her first attempt to finish first at the Tiger Paw Invitational. The performance leads the conference and is tied as the seventh-best jump in the NCAA this season.