Jan. 26, 2008

Top-Ranked Cavaliers Rally For 4-3 Win at Illinois

URBANA, Ill. - The top-ranked Virginia men's tennis team won its 2008 road debut in dramatic fashion, defeating No. 8 Illinois 4-3 Friday night in front of 1,231 fans at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Cavaliers rallied from losing the doubles point and from a 3-1 deficit in the dual match to stave off the Fighting Illini's upset bid.

"Our overall effort was great tonight," said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. "The guys hung tough against a great Illinois team in a tremendous atmosphere for college tennis. It was just an exciting match. It also showed us things we need to work on to continue to improve as a team. We now have to get ready for another strong opponent on the road as we head to Notre Dame on Sunday."

The Cavaliers (2-0) fell behind early as the Illini (1-1) won the doubles point. The No. 36 ranked Illinois duo of Ryan Rowe and Billy Heiser defeated No. 25 Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. The Cavalier drew even as No. 17 ranked Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) topped Waylon Chin and Marc Spicijaric 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. With the opening point on the line, the Illinois team of Ruben Gonzales and Brandon Davis upset No. 1 ranked Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) 9-7, handing the Cavalier duo their first loss of the season.

Miami Wins Second Straight

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The No. 36 University of Miami men's tennis team won its second dual match in as many days with a 6-1 defeat of Samford on Friday afternoon at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

The Hurricanes (2-0) swept all three doubles matches to earn the first point of the afternoon, and then went on to win five of six singles matches over the Bulldogs (0-2).

"I'm proud of our guys for opening the season with two wins," said assistant Miami coach C.J. Weber. "It's good to get a couple Ws under our belt. The team is looking forward to playing Florida on Tuesday - that will be a big match for us. We're fired up and motivated."

"It's a quiet confidence," added volunteer assistant Mel Spence.

The Hurricanes' play certainly spoke loud enough as they won all three doubles matches by a comfortable margin, including an 8-4 victory for the 18th-ranked tandem of Vivek Subramanian and David Rosenfeld.

Clemson Tops Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Falls to Texas A&M in College Station

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 25th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated Clemson in a five-hour men's intercollegiate tennis match Friday night at the City of Bryan Indoor Tennis Center at College Station, Texas. Texas A&M is now 1-0 on the year, while Clemson is now 3-1 this season. The match was forced indoors due to inclement weather conditions.

Prior to the match, the Texas A&M coaching staff presented Clemson head coach Chuck Kriese with a plaque honoring his accomplishments throughout his 33-year coaching career at the ACC school. Kriese will retire at the end of the season. The Tigers defeated No. 45 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 4-3, in an early morning match played at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.