The Cavaliers had a busy weekend with two ACC opponents coming down to Charlottesville for matches Friday and Saturday. Friday, the No. 2 Cavaliers (16-2, 6-0 ACC) took on Notre Dame (10-10, 4-4 ACC) at the Snyder Tennis Center and Saturday, Boston College (3-12, 0-7 ACC) visited the Cavaliers at Snyder. Virginia took care of business in both matches, defeating Notre Dame, 6-1, and sweeping Boston College, 7-0.
To start the match off against the Irish, the Cavaliers captured the doubles point when No. 2 ranked doubles team of junior Luca Corinteli and senior Ryan Shane quickly won their match 6-2, and the team of sophomore Collin Altamirano and junior J.C. Aragone won 6-4.
In singles, the Cavaliers won five out of six matches. Impressive performances by sophomore Altamirano and junior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski highlighted the Cavaliers’ great day.
Playing at number three in the ladder, Kwiatkowski defeated Notre Dame junior Josh Hagar, 6-3, 6-4. Then, to clinch the match, Altamirano defeated junior Eddy Covalschi 6-4, 6-2. The only loss on the day for the Cavaliers was Shane’s third-set tiebreak defeat, which came after the match was already decided. Shane fell to senior Quentin Monaghan 6-7, 7-5, 1-0.
The following day against Boston College, the Cavaliers knew they would be heavily favored against a team winless in ACC play. Coach Brian Boland decided to rest a couple of starters and play some of his utility players. Despite this, the Cavaliers cruised to a 7-0 sweep.
The match began with two quick 6-1 victories to secure the doubles point. Then, two quick victories 6-0, 6-1 wins by Corinteli and Altamirano set the Cavaliers on the path to victory. The match was clinched when junior utility player Harrison Richmond defeated Boston College freshman Peter Campana 6-1, 6-1 in a dominant performance at number six on the ladder. Another notable match was Shane’s 7-5, 6-2 win against junior Aidan McNulty, as it was nice to see Shane bounce back from the loss against Notre Dame in the final match of the day.
Boland was especially pleased with Shane’s performance Saturday.
“I was really impressed with how the team played overall, but most importantly I was impressed with how Ryan Shane bounced back from yesterday where he didn’t play his best tennis,” he said. “I thought he came out with a great deal of focus and just managed the match well and worked his way through tough conditions.
Altamirano put in two dominant performances this weekend, and is playing high-level tennis right now at the number two spot in the Cavaliers’ singles ladder.
“We knew what we were up against, and I think everybody brought it,” Altamirano said. “It was good energy out here. It was a lot of fun and I was happy with what I did and I know most of the guys are happy with what they did, especially looking at the scores, so overall it was a good job.”
Altamirano was effusive in his praise for his coaches and team staff.
“Our coach, and our staff … they do a terrific job, just keeping us ready for every match and making sure we are prepared,” he said.
Despite being second to North Carolina in the overall national rankings, Virginia currently sits atop the ACC standings. However, with a Friday match against the Tar Heels looming, the Cavaliers need to be prepared to play their best tennis in order to reclaim the No. 1 ranking.
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