Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – With the pressure on in the third set on court two, junior Jason Kros delivered the knockout punch against No. 103 Parker Wynn to claim the Virginia Tech men's tennis team a victory over No. 41 Louisville, 4-2, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
The Hokies (16-6, 6-6 ACC), who are now on a six-match win streak, started strong to begin the match by winning the doubles point on courts three and two. The Cardinals (15-10, 5-7 ACC) boasted the 53rd-best doubles team in the nation, but the duo of Henrik Korsgaard and Alexandre Ribeiro, which are ranked No. 61, stood tall and were up 6-5 before Kros and Abraham Asaba won on court three and Mitch Harperand Carlo Donato won on court two to get Tech up 1-0.
Winning in decisive fashion early on in singles play, Ribeiro was victorious on court three by a score of 6-3, 6-1 to push Tech's lead to 2-0. Freddy Mesmer fell on court six, but No. 37 Harper took down No. 53 Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff on court one to extend the lead to 3-1. It was Harper's sixth victory versus a ranked opponent this season.
The Cardinals would claw back with another victory, picking up a win on court four, however, Donato owned a lead in the third set and Kros and Wynn were knotted at 5-5 in the final frame. In the final moments, Kros dug deep and delivered the final two points to clinch it.
The Hokies will wrap up the regular season on Sunday when they host in-state rival Virginia in the finale at 1 p.m. ET.
Singles
1. #37 Mitch Harper (VT) def. #53 Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (UL) 6-4, 6-1
2. Jason Kros (VT) def. #103 Parker Wynn (UL) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
3. Alexandre Ribeiro (VT) def. Frederic Gomez (UL) 6-3, 6-1
4. Nicolas Rouanet (UL) def. Henrik Korsgaard (UL) 6-1, 6-4
5. Carlo Donato (VT) vs. Brandon Lancaster (UL) 6-4, 5-7, 3-0 DNF
6. George Hedley (UL) def. Freddy Mesmer (UL) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 3,6,1,4,2
Doubles
1. #61 Korsgaard/Ribeiro (VT) vs. #53 Morin-Kougoucheff/Wynn (UL) 6-5 DNF
2. Harper/Donato (VT) def. Hedley/Moe (UL) 6-4
3. J. Kros/Asaba (VT) def. Gomez/Lancaster (UL) 6-1
Order of finish: 2,3