In its final tune-up before the ITA National Indoor Championships, the no. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team defended its home court against No. 31 Kentucky and No. 74 Maryland at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
The Cavaliers (8-0, 1-0 ACC) took care of the Wildcats on Friday by a score of 6-1, sweeping all three doubles matches and winning five of six in singles, most notably in the number one spot. No. 43 Virginia senior Dominic Inglot defeated No. 4 Bruno Agostinelli in three sets. After dropping the first set 3-6, Inglot bounced back to take the next two 6-4 and 10-8, the latter in dramatic fashion. He noted that this is the third time this season he has taken a match to a third set tie-breaker.
“That’s become a regular this season,” Inglot said, noting that his persistence was crucial to achieving victory. “It wasn’t easy. I tried to focus in on the tactics I needed to win that [third] set. I tried to jump on him when he was down, and break him again.”
Inglot was able to carry over his confidence from defeating a top five player in the country to Virginia’s Sunday match against Maryland, helping the team achieve a 7-0 victory in its first ACC contest. In No. 1 singles, Inglot built on his undefeated record by defeating the Terrapins’ junior David Kwon. This victory was particularly enjoyable for Inglot, who said the two have a history on the tennis court.
“I played Kwon two years ago and lost on this court,” Inglot said. “I got some revenge today.”
The most Kwon could muster against Inglot’s powerful serve were a couple of flying rackets and a few feeble attempts to carry the ball over the net. But despite the resounding 6-3, 6-2 victory, Inglot said he believes he still can improve his game.
“I was a little frustrated with my first serve percentage,” Inglot said. “When I got broken it really angered me.”
Coach Brian Boland concurred with Inglot’s assessment.
“[Dominic] competed well,” Boland said. “But he can play at a higher level.”
In another important matchup in the two-spot, No. 11 sophomore Michael Shabaz defeated Maryland’s senior Nickolai Nielsen 6-1, 6-4, but not without a strong fight from his opponent. Trailing 3-4 in the second set, Shabaz fought back to win three straight, playing nearly flawless tennis.
“[Nielsen] started out well and was playing better,” Shabaz said. “I missed a few shots, but stayed patient and took the last few games.”
In doubles, the Cavaliers again won all three matches, including a win in the number 3 spot for freshman Drew Courtney and junior Lee Singer. The pair defeated Maryland junior Alex Aksanov and freshman Mathias Sarrazin by an 8-5 margin after breaking an early 4-4 tie to win three of the next four games.
But Courtney was not the only freshman who enjoyed success for Virginia in his first conference matchup. In singles, Nguyen did not lose a single game, winning in two sets, 6-0, 6-0. The performance was strong enough to gain applause from Boland, who dubbed Nguyen the team MVP of the match.
“It’s great for David,” Boland said. “He has amazing discipline and focus. It’s always difficult to win without dropping a game.”
Inglot said he believes Virginia’s success from top to bottom over the weekend is telling of the team’s depth and should demonstrate its ability to compete with the rest of the ACC.
“This is a really important win,” Inglot said. “It’s good to go into the rest of the ACC season with a 7-0 victory. It sends a message to the ACC.”
Notes:
For the first time this season, sophomore Sanam Singh and junior Houston Barrick did not play in the number one spot for the Cavaliers, instead playing in the two-spot, ceding the No. 1 position to Inglot and Shabaz ... The only match lost by the Cavaliers this weekend was when freshman Steven Eelkman Rooda fell to Kentucky’s freshman Alex Musialek ... A sizable crowd of 654 filled Boar’s Head Sports Club for Friday’s matches.
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