May 8, 2009

Final Stats

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Top-ranked Virginia improved its record to 30-0 on the season with a 4-0 victory over the Navy men's tennis team, Friday afternoon at the Snyder Tennis Courts in Charlottesville, Va., in a first-round match of the NCAA?Tournament. The three-time defending Patriot League-champion Midshipmen end their season with a record of 18-8.

Virginia advances on to Saturday's region final against North Carolina.

"Virginia is the top-ranked team in the country for a reason, and they demonstrated that today," said Navy head coach John Officer. "They serve very, very well and play great defense. It is hard to break their serve."

The Cavaliers won the doubles point by virtue of wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, with both wins coming by identical scores of 8-3. Virginia's No. 1 team of Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz posted its win over Nate Nelms (Sr., St. Mary's, Ga.) and Johnny Waters (Sr., Papillion, Neb.), while the Cavaliers' No. 2 team of Houston Barrick and Sanam Singh recorded its victory over Nick Birger (So.. Belleville, Ill.) and Jason Hill (Sr., Marietta, Ga.).

Inglot and Shabaz are ranked 12th nationally in doubles, while Barrick and Singh are the 13th-ranked tandem in the country.

Virginia took a 2-0 lead when Shabaz, the 27th-ranked singles player in the country, posted a 6-2, 6-2 win over Marcus Rebersak (Fr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) at No. 3 singles. The lead was increased to 3-0 as Singh, ranked 26th nationally, won a 6-0, 6-4 match over Waters at No. 2 singles. The match then came to a conclusion when Drew Courtney tallied a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Ramsey Lemaich (Jr., Danville, Calif.) at No. 5 singles.

In the matches that were stopped, 14th-ranked Inglot held a 6-2, 3-4 lead over Nelms at No. 1 singles, Steven Eelkman Rooda led Hill 7-6 (7-3) after the first set of their No. 4 singles match, and Lee Singer, the No. 90 player in the country, held a 6-3, 5-2 lead over Owen Bullard (So., Concord, N.C.) at No. 6 singles.

"We have faced a number of Atlantic Coast Conference teams this season in North Carolina and Clemson and Virginia is the class of the conference," said Officer. "We knew it was going to be an uphill battle for us today, but we fought hard and didn't give an inch at any point of the matches. I'm proud of our effort today, as I have been all season."

#1 Virginia (30-0) def. Navy (18-8), 4-0 Doubles - Virginia wins the doubles point (match finish order: 2-1) 1. #12 Inglot / Shabaz (V) def. Nelms / Waters, 8-3 2. #13 Barrick / Singh (V) def. Nick Birger / Hill, 8-3 3. Courtney / Singer (V) led Bullard / Lemaich, 6-2, DNF Singles (match finish order: 3-2-5) 1. #14 Dominic Inglot (V) led Nate Nelms, 6-2, 3-4 2. #26 Sanam Singh (V) def. Johnny Waters, 6-0, 6-4 3. #27 Michael Shabaz (V)?def, Marcus Rebersak, 6-2, 6-2 4. Steven Eelkman Rooda (V) led Jason Hill, 7-6 (7-3) 5. Drew Courtney (V) def. Ramsey Lemaich, 6-2, 6-2 6. #90 Lee Singer (V) led Owen Bullard, 6-3, 5-2