The Virginia men's tennis team picked up a pair of 4-2 wins this weekend in its first taste of conference action this season. The Cavaliers topped Wake Forest Saturday and Florida State yesterday at the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center.
Against Florida State (10-6, 2-3 ACC), Virginia (11-3, 2-0) set the tone in doubles play when the junior tandem of Brian Vahaly and Huntley Montgomery, the nation's No. 14 duo, won five straight games to beat Seminoles Xavier Luscan and Rodrigo Laub, 8-3.
Cav senior John Winter and junior Tommy Croker were victorious at No. 2 doubles and junior Brian Hunter and freshman Michael Duquette won at No. 3, capturing the doubles point.
But Virginia ran into trouble in singles play, as four Cavaliers dropped their first sets.
"It was a tough one," Virginia coach Dick Stockton said. "It was a very competitive match and we knew it would be. We were shorthanded [with junior Robert Abendroth injured], but the guys played hard."
Virginia captain John Winter won at No. 3 singles to put Virginia ahead 2-0, but Montgomery and fellow junior Brian Hunter lost in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 5.
With the match tied at two, the Cavaliers picked up an emotional boost with Vahaly's hard-fought victory over 28th-ranked Luscan at No. 1 singles. Vahaly, ranked fifth in the nation, won the first set, 6-0, but found himself tied at 5-5 in the second.
"I came out pretty hard," Vahaly said. "I was ready to go and I came out maybe a little too quick and aggressive. I won the first seven games, and then he started to find his game. But I played well and fought well at the end."
After Vahaly rebounded to close out Luscan with a 7-5 second set, the Cavs needed to win one of the two remaining singles matches to lock up the team victory.
Virginia sophomore Jason Romesburg was not expected to play over the weekend, but Abendroth retired from his No. 6 singles match Saturday with an ankle injury.
The sizeable crowd drifted over to No. 4 singles to watch junior Tommy Croker, who dropped the first set after a controversial line call but came from behind to beat Seminole sophomore Noah Schnell. The match was tied 4-4 in the third set when Croker broke Schnell's serve to move ahead 5-4. Croker took the next game to clinch the team's second conference victory.
"Tommy came up big at the end," Vahaly said. "It's not easy to play in front of such a big crowd."
After Croker sealed the overall victory, Romesburg's match at No. 6 was suspended.
"I'm proud of the guys today," Stockton said. "It was a very tough match. We were able to come through and the crowd was just electric. That had a lot to do with Tommy Croker pulling through. He had a lot of support and its good to see the guys in the middle of the lineup get the recognition they deserve."
Saturday against Wake Forest, Virginia swept the first four singles matches to win its ACC opener.
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