No. 1 UVA Men's Tennis Opens Season With Sweeps vs. UNCW and Richmond

The top-ranked Cavaliers swept a double-header against UNC-Wilmington and Richmond to open the spring season

Olivia Taylor/Virginia Athletics

The No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Virginia men's tennis team opened the 2023 season with a doubleheader on Sunday. The Cavaliers picked up right where they left off, earning 7-0 sweeps over both UNC-Wilmington and Richmond on Sunday afternoon at Boar's Head Sports Club. 

The season opened rather unceremoniously for UVA, as UNCW's team of Reece Falck and Harold Huens upended Bar Botzer and Chris Rodesch 6-4, giving the Seahawks a chance to capture the doubles point. But, the Cavaliers took care of business after that as the teams of Inaki Montes and Ryan Goetz (court 2) and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg and Alexander Kiefer (court 3) earned 6-4 wins over their UNCW opponents to save the doubles point. 

Ryan Goetz continued that momentum into singles action, defeating Gabe Hurtado 6-2, 6-0 on court 4. Chris Rodesch picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win on court 2 and Inaki Montes won 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the win for Virginia. Jeffrey von der Schulenburg won on court 3, 6-4, 6-3, and Alexander Kiefer won 7-5, 6-2 on court 6. Court 5's match was the only singles match to go to a super tiebreaker, with Bar Botzer rallying after losing the first set to win 4-6, 6-3, 10-3, completing Virginia's 7-0 sweep over UNC-Wilmington.

A few hours later, the Cavaliers returned to the court to face in-state foe Richmond. This time, UVA's doubles teams won each of those three matches, starting with a 6-2 win by Botzer and Rodesch on court 1, followed by 6-4 wins by both the teams of von der Schulenburg/Kiefer (court 2) and Mans Dahlberg/William Woodall (court 3). 

Virginia had two freshmen make their collegiate debuts in the match against Richmond. Mans Dahlberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) took down Richmond's John Walsh 6-3, 6-0 on court 4 and Douglass Yaffa (Harrison, New York) earned a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 13-11 win over Alex Wernink on court 6. Dahlberg's win served as the clinching point for the Cavaliers. 

Jeffrey von der Schulenburg won 6-2, 6-0 on the top court and Ryan Goetz picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win on court 2. Alexander Kiefer defeated Davis Wiley 6-4, 6-4 on court 3 and William Woodall concluded the match with a thrilling comeback victory, bouncing back after dropping the first set to win 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). 

Virginia will hit the road for the first time this season as the Cavaliers head to Lynchburg to take on Liberty on Thursday at 5pm. 

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