University of Washington
Virginia
Despite Late Theatrics, Huskies Can't Topple No. 1 Virginia
February 19, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2011
Tournament Central:
SEATTLE - The 29th-ranked Husky men's tennis team continued to scratch and claw and extend a marathon 15-hour day of tennis at the Nordstrom Tennis Center past midnight tonight against No. 1-ranked Virginia, before finally succumbing 4-1 in a match that could have ended much closer. The match closed day one of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which UW is hosting through Monday.
Trailing 3-0, Washington (6-3) suddenly found itself with a puncher's chance against the three-time defending tournament champions, as it rallied from a set down on four courts to force third sets. Putting UW on the board was senior Martin Kildahl, who scored the biggest upset of his career as he fought back to defeat 13th-ranked Sanam Singh, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3 singles. The Cavaliers, now 11-0 on the year, have five different singles players in the Top-25.
"We kept hanging in. There wasn't a court where we weren't battling and playing hard," said head coach Matt Anger. "When you get that combination of playing hard and needing to play your best, you truly find out where you are and you can learn from that. I think we started to find ourselves a little bit, and hopefully we can build on that through the weekend."
Senior Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, freshman Daniel Schmidt, and sophomore Marton Bots had all entered into third sets as well with UW needing every win to pull the shocker. But UVA closed it out when 78th-ranked Julen Uriguen pulled away to defeat Bots, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. With the match decided, the final two singles matches were suspended. Nedunchezhiyan led 15th-ranked Michael Shabaz, 2-6, 7-5, 3-2 at No. 1 singles, and Schmidt was on serve with No. 25 Jarmere Jenkins in his third set at fourth singles, down 3-4. Schmidt had been down 5-2 in his second set before coming back with five straight games to force a third.
42nd-ranked sophomore Kyle McMorrow waged a slugfest against Alex Domijan at No. 2 seconds. Domijan, the second-ranked singles player in the country held on for a 6-3, 7-5 win, snapping McMorrow's 12-match win streak. Senior Tobi Obenaus had the best first set but lost 7-5, 6-3 at No. 5 singles to 23rd-ranked Drew Courtney.
Washington will need to catch some shuteye tonight and come back ready for another chance to make hay against 9th-seeded Texas A&M in the back draw. The Huskies and Aggies will play at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Washington Men's Tennis
Seattle, Wash. - Nordstrom Tennis Center
February 18, 2011
ITA National Team Indoor Championships - First Round
No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 29 Washington 1
Doubles
1) Shabaz/Domijan (UVA) def. (24) McMorrow/Nedunchezhiyan (UW), 8-3
2) (33) Kildahl/Obenaus (UW) vs. Singh/Jenkins (UVA), 4-5 DNF
3) Courtney/Rooda (UVA) def. Bots/Schmidt (UW), 8-3
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1) (66) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW) vs. (15) Michael Shabaz (UVA), 2-6, 7-5, 3-2 DNF
2) (2) Alex Domijan (UVA) def. (42) Kyle McMorrow (UW), 6-3, 7-5
3) (125) Martin Kildahl (UW) def. (13) Sanam Singh (UVA), 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
4) Daniel Schmidt (UW) vs. (25) Jarmere Jenkins (UVA), 1-6, 7-5, 3-4 DNF
5) (23) Drew Courtney (UVA) def. Tobi Obenaus (UW), 7-5, 6-3
6) (78) Julen Uriguen (UVA) def. Marton Bots (UW), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 5, 3, 6
Players Mentioned
