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Weekend previews: April 7-9

‘The Skinny’ on weekend action for women's tennis, men's golf and rowing

<p>Junior Danny Walker holds the Virginia men's golf team's record third-best stroke average and will look to continue his success in the Gary Koch Invitational.</p>

Junior Danny Walker holds the Virginia men's golf team's record third-best stroke average and will look to continue his success in the Gary Koch Invitational.

Women’s Tennis

What: Virginia vs. Clemson and No. 6 Georgia Tech

Where: Clemson, S.C. and Atlanta, Ga.

When: Friday at 5 p.m and Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Skinny: The Virginia women’s tennis team (7-8, 5-3 ACC) plays two conference matchups on the road this weekend, first playing Clemson (8-10, 3-5 ACC) Friday before taking on No. 6 Georgia Tech (19-2, 9-0 ACC) Sunday. The Cavaliers started off 5-0 in the conference before dropping three-straight ACC matches, and they will try to end that streak this weekend.

Clemson is returning home after four-straight road matches and will look to snap a two-game skid. Led by sophomore Marie-Alexandre Leduc, the Tigers will seek vengeance against the Cavaliers, who won 7-0 last year when the teams played in Charlottesville.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is hot off of a 6-1 victory over No. 29 Wake Forest. That win included victories over senior Kimmy Guerin and sophomore Emma Davis — ranked No. 62 and No. 110 nationally, respectively. Georgia Tech’s last loss came nearly two months ago and have been red hot since then, especially in the conference. The last time the teams met, the Yellow Jackets topped the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, 4-3. This time, the Cavaliers will try to return the favor in Atlanta.

Virginia takes on Clemson at 5 p.m. Friday and faces off against Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. in Atlanta Sunday. Their match against Clemson marks the first of five-consecutive road matches. After the road streak, Virginia returns home to close out the season with two matches at Snyder Tennis Courts.

— compiled by Evan Davis

Men’s Golf

What: Gary Koch Invitational

Where: Gastonia, N.C.

When: Monday and Tuesday

The Skinny: The Virginia men’s golf team will wrap up its regular season this upcoming Monday and Tuesday when they play in the Gary Koch Invitational in Gastonia, N.C.

The tournament will be a great opportunity for the Cavaliers to gain some momentum before competing in the ACC Championships April 21-23. This year’s Virginia team — currently ranked No. 13 nationally — has a strong chance to be the first Virginia men’s golf team ever to win the ACC Conference tournament.

The Cavaliers should be well-rested for the Gary Koch Invitational. After competing in four tournaments in March, Virginia had a rare break this past weekend. The team last played March 28 at the Hootie at Bulls Bay tournament.

Players to watch for on Virginia include freshman Andrew Orischak and junior Danny Walker, who finished No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in the tournament’s qualifier, respectively. Orischak, coming off a career-best 12th-place individual finish at the Hootie at Bulls Bay tournament, is playing his best golf as of late. Walker, who holds the team’s third-best stroke average at 71.88 strokes per round, has placed in the top 10 three times this year.

— compiled by John Gallagher

Rowing

What: No. 10 Virginia vs. No. 20 Duke

Where: Rivanna Reservoir in Earlysville, Va.

When: Saturday at 12 p.m.

The Skinny: The No. 10 Virginia women’s rowing team hosts No. 20 Duke Saturday in the Cavaliers’ first home regatta of the spring on the Rivanna Reservoir in Earlysville, Va.

The Cavaliers will look to bounce back against the Blue Devils after a string of dual meet losses last week at the Pac-12 Invitational. On the second day of the invitational, Virginia fell to now-No. 1 Washington in each of its three races.

The last time these two teams faced off in spring competition, Virginia captured its seventh-consecutive ACC rowing title, though Duke posed the biggest threat to the Cavaliers with a second-place finish.

Last year in the scrimmage, Virginia swept all five races against Duke. Though the Cavaliers have dominated Duke in head-to-head competition in the last few years, this is a much different Duke team. The Blue Devils came into the spring season ranked at No. 14 and are looking to challenge the Cavaliers in the ACC.

Competition between these ACC rivals is set to begin at 12 p.m. Saturday.

— compiled by Nick Dugan

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