CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team (2-0) opened the 2024 season with a pair of victories on Saturday (Jan. 13) at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
The Cavaliers posted a 6-1 victory against Liberty before topping James Madison 7-0 in the second match of a doubleheader.
In the opener, grad transfers James Hopper and Edorado Graziani picked up a 6-1 win at the top doubles court before seniors Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg clinched the point on court two. Hopper and Graziani also opened the JMU match with a 6-1 win on the top doubles court, with sophomores Douglas Yaffa and Ty Switzer clinching the point with a win on three.
Freshman Dylan Dietrich began his career with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory against Liberty’s Thando Longwe-Smit on singles court two. Hopper also posted a 6-0, 6-0 win in the second match, blanking JMU’s Esteve Agusti on court three.
Graziani, who played No. 1 singles at Penn, returned to the top spot in the lineup in the second match, posting a 6-2, 6-1 win against Youssef Sadek that clinched the victory.
Switzer, who did not play last spring due to an injury, picked up his first career singles win in a dual match, topping JMU’s Aathreya Mahesh 6-3, 6-3 on court six.
Yaffa preserved the shutout against the Dukes with a 7-5, 2-6, 10-7 win against Markus Giersiepen on court five.
MATCH NOTES
- The Cavaliers have won their last 24 dual matches
ON THE HORIZON
- Virginia had two top-five showdowns next week
- The Cavaliers travel to play at No. 3 Texas on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) in a rematch of last year’s NCAA semifinal
- On Sunday, Jan. 21, the Cavaliers host No. 5 South Carolina at 1 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club