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TOP-RANKED VIRGINIA CAPTURES UNPRECEDENTED 4TH
CONSECUTIVE ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR TITLE OVER NO. 3 TENNESSEE
SEATTLE - The top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers made history today at the
Nordstrom Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Washington,
by capturing an unprecedented fourth straight ITA National Team Indoor
Championship title, topping No. 3 Tennessee 4-0, in a rematch from last
year's championship match. The only other school to win more than two in
row was Stanford, which won the first three events in the mid-1970s.
The championship, which began on Friday with the longest match of the
week between Tennessee and Georgia, concluded with today's final in what
proved to be the shortest match of the tournament as the Cavs came out
firing on all cylinders after claiming a hotly-contested doubles point.
UVA's new doubles combinations came through for the fourth consecutive
day to give them a 1-0 lead and snap Tennessee's 22-match doubles point
win streak. The Vols took an early edge by winning at No. 1 where
John-Patrick Smith and Boris Conkic topped Michael Shabaz and Alex
Domijan 8-4. Virginia rallied to win the other two matches in
tiebreakers. Drew Courtney and Steven Rooda rallied from down 4-2 in a
tiebreaker to win five straight points for a 9-8 [4] win over Edward
Jones and Matteo Fago at No. 3. With the opening point on the line,
Sanam Singh and Jarmere Jenkins won the final four points of their
tiebreaker for a 9-8 [5] win over Rhyne Williams and Jarryd Chaplin at
No. 2.
"The team was incredibly unselfish, particularly Michael and Drew, about
going along with the switch in doubles," said Boland. "That won us four
doubles points this week, particularly a key one today, and catapulted
us to these wins. Give them credit, they were enthusiastic about it
because they wanted to do whatever was best for the team and that was a
big part of our success."
In singles, the Cavaliers jumped out quickly on the Vols, winning five
of six first sets. Jenkins doubled the lead in the dual match as he
quickly posted a 6-1, 6-1 win over Fago at the No. 4 position. Seconds
later Shabaz made the score 3-0 as he completed a 6-2, 6-2 victory over
Williams, the nation's top ranked player. Domijan clinched the title for
Virginia with his 6-2, 6-4 win at the No. 2 spot over Smith.
"This is a great accomplishment and I am so proud of these guys," said
head coach Brian Boland. "This tournament is full of great teams and it
gets tougher to defend this title each year. We know we are going to get
everyone's best shot, but this group loves to rise to that challenge.
This year they were resilient in how they handled some tough situations
and challenges and rose to the occasion to play at a high level all
week."
#1 VIRGINIA 4, #3 TENNESSEE 0
Doubles
1. Smith/Conkic (UT) def. Shabaz/Domijan (UVA) 8-4
2. Singh/Jenkins (UVA) def. Chaplin/Williams (UT) 9-8 [5]
3. Courtney/Rooda (UVA) def. Jones/Fago (UT) 9-8 [4]
Order of Finish: 4,1,2
Singles
1. #15 Michael Shabaz (UVA) def. #1 Rhyne Williams (UT) 6-2, 6-2
2. #2 Alex Domijan (UVA) def. #17 John-Patrick Smith (UT) 6-2, 6-4
3. #13 Sanam Singh (UVA) vs. #46 Tennys Sandgren (UT) 6-4, 4-4 DNF
4. #25 Jarmere Jenkins (UVA) def. #68 Matteo Fago (UT) 6-1, 6-1
5. #119 Boris Conkic (UT) vs. #23 Drew Courtney (UVA) 6-4, 2-4 DNF
6. Justin Shane (UVA) vs. Edward Jones (UT) 6-2, 3-5 DNF
Order of Finish: 4,1,2
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship: Finals
#1 Virginia 4, #3 Tennessee 0
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship: Semifinals
#1 Virginia 4, #4 Ohio State 1
#3 Tennessee 4, #15 Duke 2
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship: Quarterfinals
#1 Virginia 4, #8 Illinois 1
#4 Ohio State 4, #5 Texas 1
#3 Tennessee 4, #6 UCLA 1
#15 Duke 4, #10 Florida 1
ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship: First Round
#1 Virginia 4, #16 Washington 1
#8 Illinois 4, #9 Texas A&M 1
#4 Ohio State 4, #13 Texas Tech 1
#5 Texas 4, #12 Kentucky 2
#6 UCLA 4, #11 Louisville 1
#3 Tennessee 4, #14 Georgia 2
#10 Florida 4, #7 Stanford 3
#15 Duke 4, #2 USC 3
