Baylor Beat Down 6-1
The early onslaught of top teams cost Virginia it's number one ranking in men's tennis, but it got them their biggest win in the teams history.The 7th-ranked Cavaliers had a home match against the 8th-ranked Baylor Bears and proceeded to register one decisive victory in front of a near capacity crowd at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
The match started off on the right foot with a victory in the doubles matches as The No. 25 ranked team of Darrin Cohen and Doug Stewart registered the first victory over Lars Poerschke and Vladimir Portnov 8-4 at No. 3 doubles. The doubles were then clinched by Rylan Rizza and Nick Meythaler taking down the No. 31 ranked team of Jon Reckewey and Matija Zgaga 8-4 at the No. 2 position.
Baylor was able to tie up the score early when Lars Poerschke took revenge against Doug Stewart 6-3, 6-2. The momentum was short lived however as Cohen took down Jon Reckewey 7-6, 6-2. After that it was only a matter of time as the crowd and excellent play kept the wins coming. Rizza downed Michal Kokta 7-6, 6-1. Treat Huey would get the deciding point when he came back to defeat Will Ward 4-6, 6-0, 6-3. Marko Miklo and Somdev Devvarman each racked up points, and the result was the biggest UVA victory over a top ten team in school history. The win was also Virginia's 18th straight at home.
Perhaps the biggest storyline was the record-breaking crowd. 890 was far from awe-inspiring but it shattered the previous record of 627 and it shows the growing prominence of men's tennis. Head coach Brian Boland has created something special here at UVA and the two-time defending ACC champions look to be primed for another spectacular season. The crowd is also a credit to the new student group at UVA the Hoo Crew. At the Wake Forest basketball game, this match was heavily advertised, and rides were provided by the group to help make that record number possible.
"I was really pleased with our overall performance tonight," said Boland. "The crowd was amazing. They gave us a boost in doubles and that momentum lasted throughout the night. I was particularly pleased with the play of our doubles, and by guys like Marko and Rylan in singles. Tonight was an indication of our improvement as a team this season. We now are looking forward to another match tomorrow against a really good Michigan team."
That's right, tomorrow. No rest for the weary tennis team, and no rest for the Hoo Crew. The 52nd ranked Wolverines will be a challenge already 4-0 on the year, but that's just how 5-2 Virginia likes it.
posted by Gibson @ 4:26 PM
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