The Virginia Cavaliers showed glimpses of their impeccable form of last season by sweeping aside the challenges of No. 8 Baylor and No. 52 Michigan over the weekend at the Indoor Tennis Stadium at the Boar's Head Inn Sports Club.
The match against last year's top-ranked team was closer than the 6-1 score line suggested, as Baylor threatened to stage a dramatic late comeback. With Virginia up 3-1, No. 6 Treat Huey and Baylor's Will Ward were involved in a titanic tussle. Huey lost his first set to Ward 4-6, but took advantage of early breaks to level the match 6-0 in the second set. But Ward did not go away easily and almost set the scene for an unlikely Baylor rally. In a long eighth game Huey lead 4-3 and played some enterprising shots, including a drop shot to keep his lead.
"I gave him four or five points in that game," Huey said. "He knew once I won that game it was over."
Huey would prevail 6-4 to claim the victory and the match for the Cavaliers.
Cheered on by a school record 890 fans in the new arena, Virginia got off to a good start Saturday by claiming the crucial doubles point. The Cavalier pair of Doug Stewart and Darrin Cohen beat the Bears' Vladimir Portnov and Lars Poerschke 8-4. Moments before, Rylan Rizza and Nick Meythaler made the point safe by beating Baylor's Matija Zgaga and Jon Reckewey with the same score. With the doubles point already secure, the Bears' Michal Kokta and Will Ward dug themselves out of trouble before upsetting Virginia's No. 35 pair of Somdev Devvarman and Huey, 7-6.
Baylor leveled early in singles play when No. 1 Poerschke made quick work of Virginia's Doug Stewart and finished with a 3-6, 2-6 victory.
The Cavaliers snuck ahead thanks to Cohen playing in the No. 6 slot. The senior came from a break down to win the first set in a tie break, before assuming control of the match to win 7-6, 6-3.
No. 53 Rizza, enjoying the great atmosphere in the arena, gave Virginia a 3-1 lead when he defeated No. 31 Kotka 7-6, 6-1.
"The crowd really helped our energy as a team," Rizza said. "It kinda had the juices flowing [and] it's really kinda fun to play in this atmosphere."
ACC Player of the Week Devvarman got off to a flying start with a 5-0 lead before taking the first set 6-4. Baylor's Zgaga would rally to tie the match before Devvarman regained his composure to take the third deciding set 6-3. No. 46 Marko Miklo completed the most dominant win over a top-ten team in Virginia men's tennis history by out-hitting Baylor's Portnov 6-3, 7-6.
Virginia's 6-1 victory was a reversal of fortune from last season after the Cavaliers lost two close matches to Baylor.
"To come in play at home and beat a team of this caliber is a result we are happy with," Virginia coach Brian Boland said. "I'm really proud of where we are at."
The team continued the weekend's winning theme by beating Michigan 6-1 on Sunday to preserve a 36-match winning streak against opponents ranked outside the top 25.
Virginia lost the doubles point to the Wolverines after Devvarman and Huey lost to Brian Hung and Matko Maravic 9-8. Earlier, Stewart and Cohen beat Steve Peretz and Scott Bruckmann 8-5 before Ryan Heller and Andrew Mazlin defeated Virginia's Rizza and Meythaler 8-6.
In singles play, Stewart defeated Maravic, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. Fellow senior Rizza beat Heller, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6. Sophomore Jarret Chirico, playing in the No. 6 slot, notched a win over Bruckmann, 6-3, 6-2. Miklo secured the tie for the Cavaliers with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Mazlin. Sophomores Devarrman and Huey completed Virginia's singles whitewash by beating Michigan's Hung and Peretz, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-3 respectively.
Virginia's season continues with a home game against the Aggies of Texas A&M on Friday at the Boar's Head Inn.
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