Virginia, Wake Forest to Decide ACC Men's Tennis Championship

April 18, 2009

CARY, N.C. – Virginia has reached the title round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Championship for the sixth straight year. Third-seeded Wake Forest will attempt to prevent the top-ranked and top-seeded Cavaliers from claiming their third straight trophy – and fifth since 2004 – when the teams meet in Sunday’s championship match at Cary Tennis Center.

The Cavaliers (28-0) are the nation’s only unbeaten men’s or women’s team, and will carry a 44-match winning streak against ACC competition into the 11 a.m. contest against the Demon Deacons (20-8). The teams met just eight days ago at Winston-Salem, N.C., with Virginia claiming a 6-1 win.

Virginia turned back fourth-seeded and nationally 16th-ranked Florida State, 4-0, in Saturday’s semifinal round. The 20th-ranked Deacons defeated second-seeded and 25th-ranked Miami, 4-2, to earn their spot opposite the Cavaliers on Sunday.

All four of the Cavaliers’ ACC Men’s Tennis Championships to date have come under the watch of current head coach Brian Boland. Wake Forest, under 13th-year head coach Jeff Zinn, is seeking it first ACC title. The Demon Deacons last appeared in the finals in 1981, when they made their second of two straight appearances.

The Cavaliers found the going tougher in Saturday’s match against Florida State than the final score might indicate, as competitive match-ups abounded. At one point, the Seminoles (19-8) led in five of the six singles matches.

But after winning two of three doubles matches to claim that point, Virginia clinched the match with wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 singles.

The most intriguing battle came at No. 1 singles, where Virginia’s Dominic Inglot outlasted ACC Player of the Year Jean-Yves Aubone 7-6 (1), 7-6 (7) in a contest between the two of the nation’s top 17 players.

The No. 2 singles match also featured a pair of All-ACC performers, and Virgina’s Sanam Singh rallied from behind to defeat FSU counterpart Clint Bowles 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. Houston Barrick then provided the clinching point the Cavaliers at No. 4, turning back Vahid Mirzadeh 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in another three-set test.

Wake Forest’s semifinal match against Miami last three hours and 45 minutes and hung in the balance until Jason Morgenstern clinched with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over David Simon at No. 6 singles.

Morgenstern completed his win just one minute after Wake’s Cory Parr defeated fellow All-American and All-ACC performer Daniel Vallverdu in a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2 marathon at No. 1.

The Deacons’ other singles win also came in three sets, as Steve Forman topped David Rosenfeld 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 at No. 2. Wake’s three singles wins were complemented by a doubles point, which the Deacons earned via wins by Parr and Forman at No. 1, and Iain Atkinson and Carlos Salmon at No. 2.

Please see the attached files for complete scoring Saturday’s semifinal matches and an updated bracket. Follow all the action of the 2009 ACC Men’s Tennis Championship at:

http://www.theacc.com/championships/09-tennis-championship.html