Tigers Drop ACC Quarterfinal Match to No. 2 Virgina

CARY, N.C. – The Clemson Tigers officially wrapped up their ACC Championship run in Cary following a 4-1 loss in the quarterfinals to No. 2 Virginia. Freshman Noa Vukadin recorded the single point for the Tigers as he took down Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg in two-sets. 

The Tigers brought the energy early in doubles as the No. 55 duo of Vukadin and Max Smith went up against the No. 12 pairing of Inaki Montes De La Torre and James Hoppe while Clemson’s Max Damm and Wissam Abderrahman faced the No. 62 team of Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg. 

Abderrahman and Damm were first to drop their match as the No. 62 Virginia pairing took the 6-3 victory. Shortly after win on court two, Virginia tabbed another 6-3 victory on court three taking down Marko Mesarovic and Matt Pitts to clinch the doubles point and steal the 1-0 lead.

Clemson continued to battle in singles as Vukadin shined on the day for the Tigers. Dominating his court, Vukadin defeated Von Der Schulenburg in two-sets as he recorded a 6-2, 6-4 victory. The win marked the freshman’s 14th singles win of the spring season and his 19th win of the fall and spring. 

Virginia tabbed wins on court four and five, leaving them with only one court left to win to claim the match. All eyes were on senior Ryuhei Azuma, who is ranked No. 95 in the nation, as he went toe-to-toe to No. 4 Chris Rodesch. 

After dropping the first set 6-3, Azuma recorded an electric comeback victory in the second set as he won it 6-4 to force a third set. Despite the back-and-forth battle and the fight from Azuma, Rodesch was able to get the 6-4 victory in the third set to win the match. 

With the win on court one, the back-to-back national champions took the 4-1 victory over the Tigers to end Clemson’s conference tournament run at the quarterfinals. The Tigers will now place focus on the NCAA Tournament as the selection show is slated for Monday, April 29 at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on NCAA.com. 

For complete coverage of the Clemson men’s tennis team, follow @ClemsonMTennis on Twitter and Instagram

Clemson 1, #2 Virginia 4

Doubles:

1. No. 12 Inaki Montes De La Torre and James Hopper (UVA) lead No. 55 Max Smith and Noa Vukadin (CU), 5-3, Unfinished
2. No. 62 Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg (UVA) def. Wissam Abderrhman and Max Damm (CU), 6-3
3. Alexander Kiefer and Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. Marko Mesarovic and Matt Pitts (CU), 6-3

Order of Finish: 2,3

Singles:

1. #4 Chris Rodesch (UVA) def. #95 Ryuhei Azuma (CU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. #32 Inaki Montes (UVA) lead #102 Wissam Abderrhaman (CU), 6-7 (3-7), 6-0, 3-1, Unfinished
3. Noa Vukadin (CU) def. Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg (UVA), 6-2, 6-4
4. #45 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. Marko Mesarovic (CU), 6-1, 6-2
5. Alexander Kiefer (UVA) def. Stewart Aronson (CU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-2
6. Max Smith (CU) level with Mans Dahlberg 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, Unfinished 

Order of Finish: 4,3,5,1