Feb. 18, 2008

Cavaliers Reach National Indoor Final With 4-2 Win Over Ole Miss

SEATTLE - The Virginia men's tennis team advanced to the championship match of the 2008 ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a 4-2 win over No. 5 Mississippi in a semifinal match Sunday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (10-0) took the doubles point and then rallied from losing five first sets to win three singles matches.

"Even though it is early in the season, our guys have been in this position a few times before," said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. "We know we can win matches like this because we have repeatedly done it already this year."

The Cavaliers opened the match strong by taking a key doubles point. The Rebels took an early advantage as Bram ten Berge and Matthias Wellermann topped Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) 8-3 at the No. 2 doubles. Virginia drew even with a win at No. 3 doubles, as Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) downed Robbye Poole and Jakob Klaeson 8-5.

North Carolina Shuts Out #9 Notre Dame

SEATTLE - The nationally 13th-ranked and 12th-seeded UNC Tar Heels capped off an impressive showing at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships on Sunday with a big win against the nation's 9th ranked team, Notre Dame. The shutout victory in the match, which was held at the Seattle Tennis Club, marks the second win in a row for the Tar Heels over a Top 10-ranked opponent, and gave UNC a 2-1 mark for the tournament against some of the best teams in the nation.

"This is obviously a good win," UNC Head Coach Sam Paul commented about his team's performance after Sunday's match. "Things are getting better, and we're really turning the corner. I'm very pleased with our effort the last two days."

Sunday's match resembled a streamlined version of yesterday's win against Baylor, as the bulk of the workload was again placed on the shoulders of junior Taylor Fogleman and sophomores Stefan Hardy, Clay Donato, and Chris Kearney. Doubles began with an 8-4 victory by Donato and Kearney, and ended when Fogleman and Hardy came back from an early break down to clinch the team point with an 8-5 win.

Wake Forest 4, South Carolina 2

More to follow...