No. 2 Virginia edges No. 16 Men's Tennis, 4-3
AUSTIN, Texas -- The 16th-ranked Texas men's tennis team (5-2) suffered a tough 4-3 loss to second-ranked Virginia (12-2) at Penick-Allison Tennis Center on Tuesday evening. The Longhorns put together impressive victories at Nos. 1, 4 and 6 singles, but were unable to record that one extra point which would have given them their first win over a top-five opponent this season. The match opened with doubles and the Texas duo of junior Callum Beale (Adelaide, Australia) and freshman Travis Helgeson (Overland Park, Kan.) jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but Virginia's Nick Meythaler and Rylan Rizza overcame the early deficit to take the 8-5 win at the No. 1 spot. Texas responded with a win of its own at the third doubles position where freshman Luis Diaz Barriga (Cordoba, Mexico) and sophomore Garrett Snyder (Newport Beach, Calif.) posted a hard-fought 9-7 victory over Treat Huey and Eric Riley. At No. 2 doubles, sophomore Hubert Chodkiewicz (Corpus Christ, Texas) and junior Roger Gubser (Laredo, Texas) traded leads with Darrin Cohen and Doug Stewart until the Cavaliers jumped ahead, 8-7. The Virginia duo then broke serve to take the match, 9-7, and claim the first point of the dual. In singles, the first player off the court was Helgeson, who dropped a 6-2, 6-3 decision to Huey at the third position. Chodkiewicz was next off the court and scored the first point for Texas with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Jarrett Chirico at the bottom of the lineup. Beale then added to the Texas comeback with a decisive 6-3, 6-3 upset victory over eighth-ranked Stewart at the No. 1 position. The win improves Beale, ranked 44th nationally, to 6-0 on the season when playing at the top of the lineup. Virginia would regain the lead at 3-2 after Gubser, ranked 61st nationally, recorded a tough 6-4, 6-4 loss to 38th-ranked Rizza at the No. 2 spot. At No. 4 singles, Barriga dropped his first set, 3-6, but responded in the second, 6-3, to even the match with Meythaler at one set apiece. In the decisive third set, the freshman failed to convert in the tiebreaker and lost a close 7-6 (5) decision which clinched the match for Virginia. Mihailovic scored the final point for Texas as he needed three sets to defeat Miklo at the fifth spot, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. The Texas men return to action on Saturday, March 12 when they host fifth-ranked Duke at Penick-Allison Tennis Center. First serve is set for 1 p.m. Central. #2 Virginia 4, #16 Texas 3 Doubles (Order of finish: 1, 3, 2*)
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