Virginia men's tennis made it a picture perfect start to the season with a dominating 7-0 win over the No. 59 Monarchs of Old Dominion yesterday. It was going to be an uphill task for Old Dominion to pull an upset over a Virginia side featuring four ranked singles players and a ranked doubles team, a task that they were unable to fulfill. The Monarchs won one set in the entire contest as the Cavaliers impressed, even without the services of injured freshman Somdev Devvarman.
Virginia's Doug Stewart recorded the only upset of the night with a victory over seventh ranked Izark van Der Merwe. Doug Stewart saved three match points with some stunning passing shots before finally taking the tie breaker 11-9 and earning a valuable win over a highly-ranked opponent.
"Obviously I got lucky," Stewart said.
"In my opinion it was the toughest match-up for me this whole year."
Stewart, who also defeated van der Merwe last year, hit a wall in the first set as the Old Dominion senior sent a barrage of scorching serves down the court to take the first set 6-2. Stewart raised his game considerably in the second set, matching his opponent shot for shot as the lead changed several times. After van der Merwe missed opportunities to end the match, the set went to a tie breaker where Stewart held his nerve to force a third deciding set.
Stewart's match was the only one where the result was ever in doubt. Virginia claimed the doubles point with ease with wins from all its three teams. Junior Darrin Cohen and freshman Treat Huey set the ball rolling with an easy victory, 8-3, over Old Dominion's Adriano Mello and Henrique Cancado at the No. 3 spot. Stewart and freshman Eric Riley secured another point for Virginia at No. 2 with a 9-8 victory over Rodrigo Souza and Eidy Igarashi. Virginia's No. 1 duo of Nick Meythaler and Rylan Rizza, ranked No. 19 nationally, completed the whitewash by defeating No. 38-ranked pair of Nathanial Grover and van der Merwe.
"I was really excited," Rizza said. "The whole team couldn't wait to get out there."
Virginia didn't let up in singles as Nick Meythaler steamrolled Juliano Crimbelli 6-1, 6-1. Huey, ranked 104th in the country, continued the demolition by earning his first ever dual match win with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Adriano Mello.
"The first few games I was a little nervous," Huey said. "But after that I settled down and it was pretty easy". Virginia Coach Brian Boland was also full of praise for his young charge.
"He is a great talent and he is going to do great things for us," Boland said. "He can certainly play at a higher level than that."
Darrin Cohen secured the match for Virginia with a straight sets win 6-3, 6-2 over Rodrigo Souza. No. 63-ranked sophomore Marko Miklo added to Virginia's tally with another straight sets victory, 6-4, 6-2, over Eidy Igarashi. Virginia's Rizza, ranked 36th in singles was just as impressive with a straight sets win over Cancado.
"It was an impressive performance. I thought the kids were enthusiastic to play," Boland said.
Virginia continues its season Saturday against No. 44-ranked Minnesota at the Boars Head Inn.
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