This weekend, No. 25-ranked Clemson men’s tennis swept the Virginia Tech Hokies 4-0 before falling to the No. 6-ranked Virginia Cavaliers 4-2. The Tigers faced the Cavaliers and Hokies in their final two regular-season matches last year, earning the same results.
Recently, the Cavaliers (16-6, 8-4 ACC) have spelled trouble for Clemson. After last year’s loss to Virginia in the regular season, the Cavaliers ended the Tigers’ postseason dreams in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Coached by Andres Pedroso, Virginia has hoisted the ACC trophy in 15 of the last 20 seasons.
Despite the Tigers’ loss this weekend, there is evidence of a change in the tides.
Doubles has become a launchpad for the Tigers, frequently giving Brandon Wagner’s squad a one-point advantage and serious momentum for singles. Tapping into this identity, the Tigers took both doubles points against their Virginian opponents this weekend — but the manner in which they earned the points was remarkable.
The top doubles line, Noa Vukadin and Maxwell Smith, were completely relieved of their duties. In both matches, courts No. 2 and No. 3 handled business before the No. 48-ranked duo could finish their set. Max Damm and Romain Gales — a duo that earned their first ITA doubles ranking last week at No. 85 — won 6–3 against both of their weekend opponents. Sunday’s win came over Virginia’s No. 42-ranked James Hopper and Keegan Rice.
On Friday, they were complemented by a nerve-wracking 8-6 tiebreak win from Nathan Pitts and Viktor Markov. On Sunday, Markov clinched the doubles point once again, but this time with a different teammate, Wissam Abderrahman, and with a less stressful score: 6-1.
Last year, the Tigers dropped the doubles point in both meetings with the Cavaliers. This year, they won without needing assistance from their top line. The Tigers’ excellence in doubles is clear, but it led to a win only against the Hokies this weekend.
“It’s a huge emphasis with us,” Smith said in an interview with The Tiger. “Win a doubles point, lose a doubles point — there’s still a lot of match left to be played. We always try to be a team that is tough and resilient. If we lose a doubles point, we trust in all six of our guys who play singles to pull through and win.”
Against the Hokies (9-13, 1-10 ACC), Smith followed up the team’s doubles point by winning his singles outing in straight sets, edging out Eyal Shumilov 7-6 (9-7) in the first set before closing 6-2 in the second. Likewise, Edoardo Lignière handled business in straight sets on court No. 6 before Romain Gales secured the sweep, winning in three sets over Virginia Tech’s Scott Sculley.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, however, the Tigers fell short as they matched up against one of the most talented singles rosters in the country.
Gales, the Tigers’ only singles victor, earned a straight-set win along with a high individual achievement: an undefeated weekend in singles and doubles against two ranked opponents. Smith and Mesarovic fell in straight sets on courts No. 5 and No. 6, evening the score at two.
With the score leveled, eyes fell on Vukadin and Abderrahman, who both won the first set in their matches. In heartbreaking fashion, the two Tigers ran out of gas almost simultaneously. No. 23-ranked Dylan Dietrich routed a comeback to defeat Vukadin 5-7, 6-4 and 6-2, and James Hopper followed suit, beating Abderrahman 4-6, 6-3 and 6-1.
Dietrich and Hopper’s wins meant four points for the Cavaliers, but at the time, Viktor Markov was up a break at 5-3 in the third set. Although his match was cut short, the Bulgarian freshman was on the verge of earning the Tigers’ third point.
Despite the defeat, the squad walked away with much to be happy about. The Tigers took the doubles point from the No. 6 team in the country, and in singles, two unbelievable comebacks were the difference between victory and defeat. The match was much closer than a score of 4-2 suggests, and the Tigers can walk away knowing they are on par with the best of the best.
Now, only one hurdle awaits the Tigers before the postseason: No. 46 Georgia Tech. The Tigers will play their season finale on Friday at 6 p.m. at Duckworth Family Tennis Facility.
