Feisty Minnesota had to leave snow-swept Charlottesville bitterly disappointed after coming up short in a 7-0 loss to Virginia Saturday.
It was a winning start for another Virginia debutante as freshman Jarret Chirico overcame Minnesota's Brian Lipinski, emulating the earlier success of fellow freshman Treat Huey. Chirico took the first set 7-5 before Lipinski staged a spectacular comeback, going three breaks up early in the second set to win it 3-6. Chirico regained his composure in the third and took it easily 6-2.
"I was just nervous going into the match," Chirico said. "I shanked a lot of balls, but I was confident I was going to win."
Minnesota looked out of sorts early as the Cavaliers were as dominant in the doubles matches as they were in their opener against Old Dominion. No. 19 ranked pair Rylan Rizza and Nick Meythaler made it a clean sweep with an 8-6 win over the Gophers' Avery Tycer and Adrien Debryne.
Earlier, Virginia's Darrin Cohen and Treat Huey easily won over Minnesota's Sion Wilkins and Mikey Kantar. The Cavalier pair of Doug Stewart and Eric Riley secured the doubles point with a win at No. 2.
Virginia featured a changed line-up from the one responsible for drubbing Old Dominion 7-0 a few days earlier. One of the changes, Stephen Rozek, was the first Cavalier on the board with a straight sets win over Minnesota's Sion Wilkins. Rozek registered the easiest win of the night, 6-2, 6-2, in his first dual match of the season.
"It was a lot of fun to be out there," Rozek said. "I was very happy to be able to contribute to the team."
Virginia coach Brian Boland was impressed with the junior from Ohio.
"Rozek continues to improve and continues to be a great leader for our team," Boland said.
No. 19 ranked Doug Stewart, playing at the No. 1 slot, kept his season record perfect and made the score 3-0 with another straight sets victory over No. 105 Ticer, 7-6, 6-3. Virginia then suffered through a tense period as signs of a Gopher comeback seemed imminent.
"We certainly didn't play our best tennis," Boland said. "But I have to give Minnesota a lot credit because they came out to play."
No. 63 Marko Miklo suffered an early setback, losing the first set 4-6 to the Gophers' Debryne. Miklo, playing at the No. 3 slot, fought back in the second before Debryne finally capitulated in the third, 6-1.
No. 104 ranked Huey, playing at the No. 4 slot, came through in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 over Minnesota's Schwark. No. 36 Rizza, playing at No. 2, arguably had the hardest match of the night battling the quick-serving Edlefsen. Rizza squandered a number of set points before losing the first set in a tie breaker, 7-6. He regained his confidence in the second set and denied the Gophers a chance for a consolation win by taking the third 6-4. Rizza's victory ensured that the Cavaliers recorded their second straight 7-0 victory of the season, a feat only they achieved once last season.
Virginia continues its schedule with another home match against No. 25 Tennessee at the Boars Head Inn next Saturday.
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