Maryland Battles, But Falls to Top-Ranked UVa
April 22, 2011
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DURHAM, N.C. - One day after a breakthrough victory, the Maryland men's tennis team was faced with a tall order, knock off the No. 1 team in the nation and the four-time defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion.
The ninth-seeded Terrapins went toe-to-toe with top seed Virginia, but ultimately the Cavaliers' depth, which features five nationally ranked singles players, was too much in a 4-0 victory Friday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship which was played at Duke after rain at the Cary Tennis Center in Cary, N.C., forced play indoors.
Jarmere Jenkins, the 53rd-ranked player in the country, clinched the match for Virginia (27-0) with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Tommy Laine at the No. 4 singles position.
"Virginia is the best team in the country," Maryland head coach Kyle Spencer said. "Despite the loss, I feel like we made some strides in doubles today and we competed in singles as well. I'm excited for the guys and the direction of the program."
The 48th-ranked Terps (12-12) nearly accomplished a feat no other ACC team was able to all season, take the doubles point from the Cavaliers.
Maryland and Virginia split at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles, but Jenkins and Julen Uriguen had to fend off an upset bid from Andy Magee and Jesse Kiuru.
The Maryland duo led 5-2 in the tiebreaker before Jenkins and Uriquen came roaring back to post a 9-8 (10-8) victory, securing the first point of the match.
Maryland's top-seeded singles player (106th nationally), Maros Horny, was forced to retire due to injury against Michael Shabaz, the fifth-ranked player in the nation, after dropping the first set 6-0.
Horny and John Collins did combine on a huge upset in Maryland's doubles win. The tandem knocked off Shabaz and Drew Courtney, the second-ranked doubles team in the country, 8-5.
"It was a great win for Horny and Collins after beating the 12th-ranked doubles team (Connor Smith and Vahid Mirzadeh of Florida State) yesterday," Spencer said. "They gave us a boost early on."
Shabaz and Courtney entered the match 19-2 on the season, including 6-0 in ACC play.
The Terps had chances at Nos. 5 and 6 singles, but those matches were never completed.
Magee lost the first set (6-3) before taking the second (6-4) against Uriquen at No. 6 singles. The match ended with Magee down 1-0 in the third.
Kiuru dropped the first set 6-3 to 39th-ranked Drew Courtney but was up 5-4 in the second when the match was halted after UVa reached its fourth point.
"Overall I'm really happy with how the ACCs went," Spencer said. "I enjoyed how the guys competed and their effort. Now we have to sit and wait."
Despite the loss, the Terps are hopefully of gaining a bid to the NCAA Tournament which begins Thursday, May 19 at campus sites.
The Terps have five victories over ranked teams this season, including Thursday's 4-2 opening-round win over No. 44 Florida State. Maryland has only beaten five ranked teams in the last five years.
Maryland's previous win at the ACC Championship occurred in 1989. Thursday's victory was also the Terps' first in an opening-round match at the ACCs since 1986 when they defeated Virginia, 5-4.
At-large berths for the NCAAs will be announced on Tuesday, May 3. The announcement will be made at 5:30 p.m. EDT on NCAA.com.
Maryland has never made the NCAA field, which is now 64 teams, since it went to a single-elimination tournament format in 1978.
The list of individuals selected to the singles and doubles championships will be posted on NCAA.com no later than 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4.
