In a triumphant statement of resilience, the seventh-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team knocked off No. 62 Clemson (9-7, 0-2 ACC), 6-1, in its ACC home debut on Friday.
After dropping three of six matches in the last month, the Cavaliers (10-3, 3-0 ACC) were a team looking for answers as they began ACC play, in arguably one of the most difficult conferences nationally. Playing in their first match at home in nearly two months, Virginia opened strong, taking the doubles point as sophomore Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and freshman Henrik Wiersholm combined for an 8-3 victory at the second position. The 19th-ranked team of sophomore Luca Corinteli and senior Mitchell Frank then convincingly won 8-2 at the one position.
Securing the doubles point has proven to be the recipe for success for the Cavaliers, as they have taken home the point in each of their 10 wins this season. Unfortunately, the Tigers (9-7, 0-2 ACC) quickly tied the score after freshman Alexander Ritschard had to retire in the first set of his match against Tigers’ junior Luke Johnson at the fifth position. Virginia then went on to win the next five singles matches — all in straight sets.
Although no longer boasting the top two players in the nation, the Cavaliers now have four players in the top 70, and the deeper, more balanced lineup paid dividends for coach Brian Boland. Sixth-ranked Kwiatkowski finished first following Ritschard’s match, cruising to a 6-3, 6-4 win at the four position. He was quickly followed by the Cavaliers’ other top-10 player, third-ranked junior Ryan Shane, who knocked off senior Alejandro Augusto 6-0, 6-3 at the second position. Wiersholm then cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory at the six position to push Virginia’s lead to 4-1 and clinch their third straight ACC victory this season and 127th in a row.
Frank, who is ranked 27th, cruised at the top position and 70th-ranked freshman Collin Altamirano won 6-1, 6-4 against sophomore Daffra Sanon at the three.
Virginia’s dominant win against Clemson should serve as a source of confidence going forward as the team returns to the road this coming weekend to take on 36th-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and Boston College two days later in Chestnut Hill.
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