Blacksburg, Va. – The UMBC men's tennis team nearly took the doubles point from 35th-ranked Virginia Tech, but fell just short, and the Hokies carried the momentum to singles, where they triumphed, 7-0.

UMBC dropped to 4-3 on the campaign, while Tech improved to 7-1.

UMBC was a point away from taking the doubles point from the Hokies. The Retrievers dropped No. 3 doubles, 8-3 ,but the visitors No. 1 duo of senior Daniel Gray (Bowie, Md./The Bullis School) and junior Alex Drean (Bayonne, France) knocked off Tech's No. 1 tandem of ranked players, 8-4.

The Retrievers' No. 2 pairing of juniors Jaan Kononov (Talinn, Estonia) and Melker Svard (Gothenburg, Sweden) led, 7-6, but went to a tie-breaker knotted at 7-7. UMBC led, 6-5, in the breaker, but Tech won both points on its serve and hit a winner on the ensuing UMBC serve to take the breaker, 8-6, and the match, 8-7.

All six singles matches started out on even footing, but the hosts gradually proved their mettle and won five of six in straight sets. UMBC junior Eliott Loubatie (Paris, France) took the first set off of Jai Corbett, but dropped a tight, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision.

The men are slated to host Morgan State on Friday at 2:00 p.m.  

Virginia Tech 7, UMBC 0

Singles

1) #49 Amerigo Contini (VT) def. Jaan Kononov (UMBC) 6-2, 6-2
2) #74 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) def. Justin Carter (UMBC) 6-3, 6-1
3) Hunter Koontz (VT) def. Melker Svard 6-3, 6-0
4) Joao Monteiro (VT) def. Alex Drean (UMBC) 6-3, 6-2
5) Jai Corbett (VT) def. Eliott Loubatie (UMBC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
6) Eduardo Tessaro (VT) def. Daniel Gray (UMBC) 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,1,4*,6, 2,5

Doubles

1) Gray/Drean (UMBC) def. Bjerrehus/Contini (VT) 8-4
2) Koontz/Florian Nicoud (VT) def. Kononov/Svard (UMBC) 8-7 (6)
3) Corbett/Monteiro (VT) def. Carter/Loubatie (UMBC) 8-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2