April 16, 2011
Charlottesville, Va. – Dean O’Brien earned a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles and teamed with Guillermo Gomez for a shutout at No. 2 doubles, but top-ranked Virginia captured a 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis victory over No. 15 Georgia Tech Saturday at the Boar’s Head Club.
Tech, 17-4 overall, 8-3 in the ACC, must wait for Sunday’s matches to conclude before it will know its seed for next week’s ACC Championship in Cary, N.C. The Jackets currently hold fifth place, while Miami, Duke and North Carolina are all tied at 8-2. Miami plays at Duke Sunday, while North Carolina hosts Florida State.
Virginia (25-0, 11-0), which had clinched the top seed in next week’s championship on Friday, extended its winning streak to 86 matches overall and 73 in conference play.
“UVA was the better team today,” said Tech coach Kenny Thorne. “I liked the fight we showed on all the courts, but they were the better team today. We’ll be ready for the ACC Tournament whoever we happen to play.”
Virginia took the early lead, winning the doubles point by a whisker when Julen Uriguen and Jarmere Jenkins outlasted Kevin King and Miguel Muguruza, 9-8, by winning the tiebreaker, 7-5. Gomez and O’Brien had struck first at No. 2 with an 8-0 win over Alex Domijan and Steven Rooda, but the Cavaliers won at No. 1 when Justin Shane and Michael Shabaz got by Tech’s Eliot Potvin and Ryan Smith, 8-5.
“Guillermo and Dean played extremely well and got the first doubles match quick,” said Thorne. “We were up a break early at No. 1 doubles and Virginia battled back well. We also played a tough match at No. 3 doubles but lost a close tiebreaker. Miguel and Kevin looked very comfortable playing together even though it was only their 2nd match together this season. I liked that we believed we could win and we played to win. The guys stepped up boldly but we simply fell two points short of taking the doubles point.”
O’Brien finished first in singles, getting a 6-1, 6-3 win over Justin Shane at fifth singles to knot the match at 1 apiece. Alex Domijan, the nation’s No. 2 player, put Virginia on top to stay with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win over Kevin King at No. 2.
O’Brien, a senior from Benmore, South Africa, completed a fine conference season with a 10-1 record, and has a 12-2 mark in dual matches.
The Cavaliers won in straight sets the rest of the way, save for the No. 4 position, where Jarmere Jenkins needed a pro-set to defeat Magin Ortiga after splitting the first two sets. Gomez, the nation’s 15th-ranked player, saw his 12-match winning streak come to an end with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to 8th-ranked Michael Shabaz. He also has a 10-1 conference mark and an 18-3 dual match record.
“Dean came out and played a very solid singles match,” Thorne said. “He has been playing very well and finding ways to win. Magin did a great job of fighting back and it would have been interesting to see him play a full third set. Kevin battled back as well and got momentum but lost a tiebreaker to push the match to a third set.”
The bottom eight seeds begin ACC Championship play Wednesday, and the top four seeds begin play Thursday.
Tennis Match Results
Georgia Tech vs Virginia
Apr 16, 2011 at Charlottesville, Va.
#1 Virginia 6, #15 Georgia Tech 1
Singles competition
1. #8 Michael Shabaz (VA) def. #15 Guillermo Gomez (GT) 6-3, 6-4
2. #2 Alex Domijan (VA) def. Kevin King (GT) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. #32 Sanam Singh (VA) def. Eliot Potvin (GT) 6-4, 6-4
4. #50 Jarmere Jenkins (VA) def. Magin Ortiga (GT) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
5. Dean O’Brien (GT) def. Justin Shane (VA) 6-1, 6-3
6. Julen Uriquen (VA) def. Miguel Muguruza (GT) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Justin Shane/Michael Shabaz (VA) def. Eliot Potvin/Ryan Smith (GT) 8-5
2. Guillermo Gomez/Dean O’Brien (GT) def. Alex Domijan/Steven Rooda (VA) 8-0
3. Julen Uriquen/Jarmere Jenkins (VA) def. Kevin King/Miguel Muguruza (GT) 9-8 (7-5)
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 17-4, 8-3 ACC; National ranking #15
Virginia 25-0, 11-0 ACC; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,6,1,3,4)
