Hokie ClubKNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 30-nationally ranked Virginia Tech men's tennis team earned its first NCAA postseason victory since 2002 with a 4-0 victory over No. 37 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at the Varsity Tennis Courts on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
The Hokies (16-8) will next face off against the No. 8 Volunteers (22-3) on Sunday at 2 p.m. as Tennessee earlier defeated No. 69 Furman (16-11), 4-0. The second round match will mark the second contest between the two squads this season as the Vols defeated Tech, 4-3, at home back in March. Coincidently, Tennessee was the team that eliminated the Hokies in the second round of the 2002 tournament.
The Tech men quickly got on the board against the Wildcats (12-16) by winning two of the three doubles matches and followed that by taking the first three singles matches for the victory. Play stopped in the remaining matches once Tech earned four points.
Brandon Corace (Jr., Naples, Fla.) continued Tech's momentum after doubles by beating Alex Lambropoulos, 6-4, 6-3, in the No. 6 match. At No. 3, Yoann Re (So., Verdun, Quebec, Canada) defeated Marcus Sundh, 6-4, 6-4, and then in the No. 5 contest, Sebastien Jacques (Fr., Magog, Quebec, Canada) earned the clinching point with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Shane Collins.
In doubles action, Kentucky won the No. 1 contest as No. 22 Agostinelli/Cox defeated Corace/Pedro Graber (So., Santiago, Chile), 8-3. However, Tech's Nicolas Delgado de Robles (Jr., Madrid, Spain) and Albert Larregola (Sr., Lleida, Spain) beat Beck/Collins, 8-3, at No. 2 to even it up, and then Jacques/Re defeated Lambropoulos/Sundh, 8-4, for the doubles point.
The winner of Sunday's match between Tech and Tennessee will advance to the NCAA Championship site, the University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center, which will host the remaining contests starting Friday, May 16.
#30 Virginia Tech 4, #37 Kentucky 0
Singles
1. #20 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) led #40 Albert Larregola (VT), 2-6, 6-2, 4-0
2. Brad Cox (UK) led Nicolas Delgado de Robles (VT), 2-6, 6-1, 3-0
3. Yoann Re (VT) defeated Marcus Sundh (UK), 6-4, 6-4
4. Pedro Graber (VT) led Alberto Gonzalez (UK), 6-3, 5-6
5. Sebastien Jacques (VT) defeated Shane Collins (UK), 6-4, 6-2
6. Brandon Corace (VT) defeated Alex Lambropoulos (UK), 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. #22 Agostinelli/Cox (UK) defeated Corace/Graber (VT), 8-3
2. Delgado de Robles/Larregola (VT) defeated Will Beck/Collins (UK), 8-3
3. Jacques/Re (VT) defeated Lambropoulos/Sundh (UK), 8-4
Finishing Orders:
Singles - 6,3,5*
Doubles - 1,2,3*