Men’s Tennis: Virginia wins the ACC Championship

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Posted on Sunday, Apr. 24, 2022, 4:55 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Team Champions

Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.

Top-seeded Virginia won its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis Championship on Sunday, capturing four of the six singles matches to come from behind and top No. 3 seed North Carolina, 4-3, at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

The Cavaliers (22-5) won their 14th ACC title in program history and second under head coach Andres Pedroso. Virginia’s Ryan Goetz was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

North Carolina (16-8) started strong by taking the doubles point, capped by Benjamin Sigouin and Peter Murphy’s victory, 7-5, in a tiebreaker at No. 3.

The Tar Heels also got off to a great start in singles, taking the first set in four matches, but Virginia roared back to win all six of the second sets. UVa’s Gianni Ross won, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 6 to knot the team score, 1-1. Jeffrey Schulenburg battled back to win at No. 3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, and Goetz also won in three sets, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4, giving UVa a 3-1 team advantage.

UNC tied the match with wins at No. 5 and No. 1, respectively, as Anuj Watane picked up a 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 victory and Brian Cernoch notched a 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-3 triumph.

The final match at No. 2 singles came down to a third-set tiebreaker, and the Cavaliers’ Inaki Montes grinded out a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3) win to lock up the championship.

FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO

“This is what an ACC final should look like every single year. Credit to North Carolina for a hard-fought match and for fighting ‘til the very end. They gave us everything they had and I wish them luck at the NCAA tournament. Our guys just showed how tough they are, how resilient they are and all the work that they put in. I’m really proud of them. We’re looking forward to the next two, three weeks. We think we have a chance against anyone and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

MATCH NOTES

  • Virginia is ranked No. 6 in the latest ITA team rankings. North Carolina is No. 17
  • Virginia brings a 17-match win streak into the NCAA tournament. Its last loss was on Feb. 19 during ITA Indoors
  • UVA has won 14 ACC Championships (2004-05, 2007-15, 2017, 2021-22)
  • This is the third time the ACC Championship has been held at the Rome Tennis Center. Virginia won the title both of the previous times it was there (2017 and 2021)

ON THE HORIZON

  • The Cavaliers have a bye week next week
  • Selections for the NCAA Team Championship will be announced on Monday, May 2 at 6 p.m. in a selection show that will stream online on NCAA.com
  • The NCAA Championship begins at four-team regional sites on Friday, May 6. One team from each site will advance to a super regional on May 13 or 14 at host sites. The final eight teams will advance to the finals site in Champaign, Illinois. Quarterfinals begin on Thursday, May 19
  • Selections for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be announced on Tuesday, May 3 by a press release

#6 Virginia 4, #17 North Carolina 3

Singles competition

  1. #33 Brian Cernoch (NC) def. #23 Chris Rodesch (VA) 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 6-3
  2. Inaki Montes (VA) def. Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
  3. #25 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Mac Kiger (NC) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
  4. #85 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Logan Zapp (NC) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
  5. Anuj Watane (NC) def. Bar Botzer (VA) 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
  6. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Peter Murphy (NC) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles competition

  1. #8 Brian Cernoch/Mac Kiger (NC) def. Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) 7-5
  2. #52 Chris Rodesch/Bar Botzer (VA) def. Casey Kania/Logan Zapp (NC) 6-2
  3. Benjamin Sigouin/Peter Murphy (NC) def. Gianni Ross/Alexander Kiefer (VA) 7-6

Match Notes:

North Carolina 16-8; National ranking #17

Virginia 22-5; National ranking #6

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