Spiders Drop Thriller to #12 Virginia, 4-3

Saturday, January 20

Charlottesville, VA

5PM

University of Richmond

#12 Virginia

01/20/2018 | Men's Tennis

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Richmond men's tennis team may be young, but it certainly didn't show in the team's dual-match opener.

The Spiders took reigning NCAA Champion Virginia to the wire in Charlottesville, winning the doubles point but coming up just short of an upset, falling 4-3 to the Cavaliers.

"The obvious response after a match like this would be to happy with how we fought and performed," head coach Houston Barrick said after the match. "We took the No. 12 team in the country and back-to-back National Champions to the brink of defeat, but we have to be disappointed and upset with the result for our program to grow."

The Spiders got off to a quick start, clinching the doubles point with wins on courts 1 and 3. Caleb Troy and James Aronson took down Virginia's Matthew Lord and Ammar Alhaqbani, 7-5, while Klein Evans and Matt Fernandez defeated Gianni Ross and Jefferson Dockter by the same score.

Richmond took the 1-0 lead into singles play, but the Cavaliers were able to take four of the six matches for a season-opening win.

Troy cruised to a win at No. 1, taking down Lord 6-3, 6-2, while newcomer George Lovitt defeated Dockter, 6-2, 6-2. The Cavaliers took wins on courts 2 through 4, leaving Evans to battle for the clinch on No. 5.

Despite a hard-fought effort, the sophomore was unable to overcome his opponent, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Kyrylo Tsygura in just his fifth-career dual match.

"We did everything needed to win this match, but until we believe we can play with the very best in the country, we are going to lose matches like tonight," Barrick added. "I'm proud of how our guys fought and how they came together as a group. Our only choice is to learn and use this experience to grow."

The Spiders return to action next Friday, January 26, when they travel to face Liberty. Match time in Lynchburg is set for 4 p.m.

#12 Virginia 4, Richmond 3
SINGLES
1. Caleb Troy (UR) def. Matthew Lord (UVA) – 6-3. 6-2
2. Gianni Ross (UVA) def. Brice Polender (UR) – 6-2, 6-2
3. #40 Aswin Lizen (UVA) def. Matt Fernandez (UR) – 6-1, 6-1
4. Ammar Alhaqbani (UVA) def. James Aronson (UR) – 6-4, 6-3
5. Kyrylo Tsygura (UVA) def. Klein Evans (UR) – 7-5, 6-4
6. George Lovitt (UR) def. Jefferson Dockter (UVA) – 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,1,3,4,6,5

DOUBLES
1. Caleb Troy/James Aronson (UR) def. Matthew Lord/Ammar Alhaqbani (UVA) – 7-5
2. Aswin Lizen/Kyrylo Tsygura (UVA) def. Brice Polender/George Lovitt (UR) – 6-3
3. Klein Evans/Matt Fernandez (UR) def. Gianni Ross/Jefferson Dockter (UVA) – 7-5
Order of Finish: 2,1,3

*Note: Saturday's contest marked the first dual match for head coach Houston Barrick, who was a standout tennis student-athlete at Virginia.