SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – UVa-Wise men's tennis extended its winning streak to four with a 6-3 road victory at Mountain East Conference opponent Shepherd University Sunday. The Cavaliers improved their record to 8-7 this year and evened out their MEC mark to 2-2 with the win.
 
After claiming two out of three doubles, UVa-Wise was able to win four singles matches against the host Rams (7-8, 2-4 MEC) to secure the victory. Forced to play indoors on har-tru courts due to strong winds in the area, the Cavs gutted out several close matches for the second day in a row.
 
The top doubles team of senior Vladyslav Akimenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) and sophomore Andrii Rutnytskyi (Odessa, Ukraine) took down Shepherd's Grant Davis and Austin Thomas 8-3 as the Rams' duo of Lewis Charette and Will Wheatley defeated UVa-Wise senior Oleg Kopychenko (Simferopol, Ukraine) and sophomore Noah Aldridge (Pennington Gap, Va.) 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.
 
Just like in the match the day before, third doubles came down to a tiebreaker, however, the Cavs were able to prevail and get the No. 3 doubles win Sunday. Sophomores Viktor Tunnikov (Kharkiv, Ukraine) and Christopher Armistead (Virginia Beach, Va.) earned a 7-5 tiebreaker win in the 9-8 match against Shane Dempsey and Clayton Smith of Shepherd.
 
UVa-Wise extended its lead to 3-1 against the Rams when Akimenko was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Shepherd's Davis at the top singles spot. The Rams' Dempsey got the better of Rutnytskyi at No. 2 singles with a convincing 6-0, 6-3 win to make the team score 3-2.
 
Both No. 3 and No. 4 singles came down to a third set with the Cavs coming out on the winning side of each. Kopychenko outlasted Wheatley of Shepherd after falling in the first set 6-4. A very tightly contested second followed as Kopychenko squeezed by in a tiebreaker (7-5) to force a third and final set, which he won 6-3. Tunnikov clinched the team win for UVa-Wise and gave the Cavs a 5-2 lead in the match after he defeated the Rams' Charette 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.
 
Armistead picked up a 6-4, 6-2 match win at the fifth singles position over Shepherd's Thomas to extend the Cavs' advantage to 6-2. The final match of the day at No. 6 singles was played as an eight-game pro set since the team match had already been decided. The Rams' Smith earned a 9-7 win over freshman Blake Pientka (Wise, Va.) for Shepherd's second singles win of the contest.
 
The Cavs will have six days off from competition before wrapping up their six-match road trip at Concord University next Saturday, first serve is scheduled for 12 p.m.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier men's tennis news, statistics, complete schedule and more.
 
Full Match Results
UVa-Wise 6, Shepherd University 3
 
Singles
1. Vladyslav Akimenko (WISE) def. Grant Davis (SU) 6-1, 6-4
2. Shane Dempsey (SU) def. Andrii Rutnytskyi (WISE) 6-0, 6-3
3. Oleg Kopychenko (WISE) def. Will Wheatley (SU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
4. Viktor Tunnikov (WISE) def. Lewis Charette (SU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
5. C. Armistead (WISE) def. Austin Thomas (SU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Clayton Smith (SU) def. Blake Pientka (WISE) 9-7
 
Doubles
1. Vladyslav Akimenko/Andrii Rutnytskyi (WISE) def. Grant Davis/Austin Thomas (SU) 8-3
2. Lewis Charette/Will Wheatley (SU) def. Oleg Kopychenko/Noah Aldridge (WISE) 8-4
3. Viktor Tunnikov/C. Armistead (WISE) def. Shane Dempsey/Clayton Smith (SU) 9-8 (7-5)