April 7, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
On a beautiful day in College Park, the University of Maryland men's tennis team fell to conference foe Virginia, 6-1, at the Tennis Center at College Park. Junior Ian Bliss came up big in the No. 3 position for the Terrapins, winning his first conference match of the season. The Terps record fell to 8-8, 0-7 in the ACC with the loss.
Maryland fell behind in doubles action as Virginia swept all three matches, taking an early lead. Ian Bliss (Plainview, N.Y.) and Scott Peters (Hopkinton, Mass.) were defeated 8-2 by the Wahoo's No. 31-ranked doubles team of Rylan Rizza and Nick Meythaler. Junior Rory Theis (Bloomington, Minn.) and Chase Dawson (Timonium, Md.) fell in the No. 2 position by Darrin Cohen and Doug Stewart, 8-1. Juniors Troy Demers (Annapolis, Md.) and David Reichsfeld (Santa Cruz, Bolivia) came the closest to a Terp doubles win in the No. 3 position. They were stopped by Virginia's No. 3 pair, Stephen Rozek and Marko Miklo, 8-5.
Although singles action clinched the win for the Cavs, Maryland head coach Jim Laitta was pleased with his team's performance. " I thought we really competed hard today. I'm proud of the guys for fighting hard and being competitive. Virginia is a very talented team and it showed today," said Laitta.
Virginia won in the top singles spot, when Rylan Rizza defeated Troy Demers 6-2, 6-1. Marko Miklo followed suit for the Cavs as he won 6-2, 6-2 over Scott Peters.
Highlighting the afternoon was Ian Bliss, who pulled off a huge victory in the No. 3 singles position. He won his match against Stephen Rozek in an exciting fashion as he topped him 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-7) in a super-tie-breaker. The victory was Bliss' first conference victory of the season. "I am very proud of Ian," said Coach Laitta. "He has been working hard and has had a few three-setters this season and it was good to see him win today."
After jumping out to an early one set lead over Virginia's Nick Meythaler, freshman Scott Fink (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) dropped the next two sets, 2-6, 1-6, giving Meythaler the win.
Cavalier Darrin Cohen made quick work of David Reichsfeld, defeating him 6-0, 6-3 in the No. 5 slot. Burak Ahmed made it official for the Wahoos, topping John O'Rourke, 6-3, 6-4.
Maryland returns to its home courts, Saturday, against Duke for the final home match of the 2004 season against Duke.
No. 15 Virginia 6, Maryland 1
Doubles:
1. No. 31 Rizza/Meythaler (UVa) def. Bliss/Peters (UM) 8-2
2. Cohen/Stewart (UVa) def. Theis/Dawson (UM) 8-1
3. Rozek/Miklo (UVa) def. Demers/Reichsfeld (UM) 8-5
Singles:
1. Rylan Rizza def. Troy Demers (UM) 6-2, 6-1
2. Marko Miklo (UVa) def. Scott Peters (UM) 6-2, 6-2
3. Ian Bliss (UM) def. Stephen Rozek (UVa) 4-6, 7-6, 10-7
4. Nick Meythaler (UVa) def. Scott Fink (UM) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Darrin Cohen (UVa) def. Dave Reichsfeld (UM) 6-0, 6-3
6. Burak Ahmed (UVa) def. John O'Rourke (UM) 6-3, 6-4
