The No. 4 Virginia men’s tennis team picked up another win against Florida State Monday afternoon. The Cavaliers (11-2, 5-0 ACC) are a perfect 11-0 at Boar’s Head Resort.
The Cavaliers’ match at Boar’s Head Resort against Florida State (6-5, 0-3 ACC) started off with competitive drama. In doubles, Virginia got off to another strong start. However, after freshmen Iñaki Montes and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg won their match on court three 6-1, Florida State countered with a 6-2 victory as redshirt freshman Loris Pourroy and senior Marcus Walters were able to control points against freshman Chris Rodesch and junior Ryan Goetz.
On court one, graduate student Carl Söderlund and junior William Woodall edged out senior Alex Knaff and junior Sebastian Arcila to earn Virginia the doubles point. Momentum and continuity played a large part in Virginia’s ability to win these doubles matches. Montes and Schulenburg are now winners of their last six decisions in doubles while Söderlund and Woodall have won their last five.
After a competitive doubles frame, the Cavaliers won their next three singles matches in straight sets on courts one, three and five to seal the match.
In singles, Söderlund and Knaff squared off again, with Söderlund winning 6-3, 6-0 to give Virginia a 2-0 lead. On court five, Goetz defeated Walters 6-3, 6-3. Rodesch sealed the victory with another 6-3, 6-3 victory against Arcila.
The three abandoned courts were all in close matches at the conclusion of the match. Montes had won his first set 6-1 and was winning 4-3 in his second set. Von der Schulenburg — slated on court two Monday — won his first set in a tiebreaker 7-5 and was knotted in his second. On court six Woodall dropped his first set in a tiebreaker 7-5 and had just started the second set.
Strong singles play from the top players continues to help the Cavaliers surge through the ACC. Rodesch picked up his 10th singles win of the season improving to 10-3 while Söderlund earned his seventh win on the top court this season.
Meanwhile, Florida State continues to search for the ever-elusive first conference win despite receiving votes in last week’s ITA team rankings.
There were much nicer conditions at Boar’s Head Resort on Monday compared to the last match against Miami, offering cleaner play from both sides. With winter coming to an end, the brand new facility offers appealing scenery and a great environment for quality tennis.
“This place is just a beautiful place to play tennis,” Coach Andres Pedroso said. “The scenery is unbelievable. The colors … the courts are beautiful … Little by little you know we're getting used to the conditions.”
Virginia, in the middle of a seven-game schedule against ACC opponents, has now won its fifth straight in-conference match. With the ACC Championship just over a month away, the Cavaliers’ constant battles with quality opponents continue to fuel confidence for this team.
“The ACC is just such a tough conference,” Pedreso said. “You have to be ready for war every single day. I thought we did pretty well opening weekend here at the new facility.”
Virginia will continue its trek through ACC competition with Georgia Tech slated for Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Clemson Sunday at 12 p.m.
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