Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – With the contest tied at 3-3, sophomore Alexandre Ribeiro secured the match clinching point on court three as the 37th-ranked Virginia Tech men's tennis team defeated the defending national champion No. 43 Virginia on Sunday afternoon at Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
Ribeiro secured the first set 6-2 over No. 32 Aswin Lizen, but fell in the second by the same margin. In the final set, Ribeiro led 4-1, but Lizen came back to tie it up at 5. The two tied again at 6-6 to force the tiebreak. Ribeiro jumped out to the early lead, going on to win it 7-4 to clinch the win for the Hokies.
Tech (17-6, 7-5 ACC) got out to the early lead after securing the doubles point. The Hokies' 61st-ranked Henrik Korsgaard and Ribeiro defeated No. 43 Matthew Lord and Carl Soderlund 6-4 at the one. Carlo Donato and Mitch Harper knocked off 32nd-ranked Lizen and Gianni Ross 7-5 at two to secure the point.
UVA (12-11, 5-7 ACC) tied it up at 1-1 with a win at six, but Harper, ranked 37th, had a big win at one. He downed No. 27 Soderlund in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to push the Hokies to a 2-1 advantage.
The Cavaliers answered claiming the matches on courts four and five to go on top 3-2. Jason Kros battled on court two, giving up the first set 6-3 to Ross. The Tech junior rallied to win in the second set 6-4. In the final set, Kros started off with a break and kept the strong play going as he rolled to win it 6-1, tying the match up at 3-3 to leave the deciding match to Ribeiro.
The win marks Tech's first over the 'Hoos since 2003. It also gives the Hokies a 10.5-7.5 advantage in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529.
Tech has earned the fifth-seed in this week's upcoming ACC Championships. They will face the winner of 12th-seeded Georgia Tech and 13th-seeded Boston College at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 26.
Singles
1. #37 Mitch Harper (VT) def. #27 Carl Soderlund (UVA) 6-2, 6-4
2. Jason Kros (VT) def. Gianni Ross (UVA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. Alex Ribeiro (VT) def. #32 Aswin Lizen (UVA) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4)
4. Kyrylo Tsygura (UVA) def. Henrik Korsgaard (VT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
5. Matthew Lord (UVA) def. Carlo Donato (VT) 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3
6. Ammar Alhaqbani (UVA) def. Freddy Mesmer (VT) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 6,1,5,4,2,3
Doubles
1. #61 Korsgaard/Ribeiro (VT) def. #43 Lord/Soderlund (UVA) 6-4
2. Donato/Harper (VT) def. #32 Lizen/Ross (UVA) 7-5
3. Asaba/J. Kros (VT) vs. Alhaqbani/Spencer Bozsik (UVA) 5-5 dnf
Order of finish: 1,2