University of Virginia Library

Netters Third In Tourney;
Cooper-Mertz Grab Title

By Gordy Rawles
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. — John Mertz and
Biff Cooper teamed to capture
Virginia's first individual title in the
history in the history of the ACC
Tennis Tournament as Coach Gordon
Burris' netters finished third
behind Clemson and North Carolina.
Success in the season's finale
justified Virginia's third-place finish
in regular play with a 14-3 record,
the best since 1952.

Predicted to amass 49 points the
Cavaliers came through with several
outstanding individual performances
and finished with a total of
50, a vast improvement over the 27
scored in last year's sixth-place
finish.

The crowd-pleasing duo of
first-year man John Mertz and Biff
Cooper had the honor of becoming
Virginia's first ACC champions as
they defeated Clemson's
second-seeded international team of
Nicki Kelaidis of Greece and
Pakistan's Sarfraz Rahim, 4-6, 6-3,
6-3, in the finals of the second
doubles bracket. Mertz and Cooper,
the fourth-seeded tandem, had
previously defeated the top seeds in
the semi-finals.

Clemson, the pre-season favorite
for the championship, nipped the
North Carolina Tar Heels for the
overall title, scoring 65 points as
compared to UNC's 62. Finishing
fourth after the Cavaliers was Wake
Forest with 37 points followed by
South Carolina, last year's co-titlists,
with 36. Rounding out the
standings were Maryland (33),
Duke (28), and North Carolina
State (13).

Coming on with a strong finish
on the final day of the tournament,
the Cavaliers won decisions in six of
nine matches on Saturday afternoon
to hold firm their position
ahead of Wake Forest and South
Carolina. Burris' third doubles team
of Andy Scheinman and John
Winter also gained a finals berth for
the Cavaliers only to lose the title
to Clemson's Eddie Shelton and
Gordon Hebert, 6-3, 6-3.

In singles play the Virginia
netters captured three third places
at the fourth, fifth, and sixth
positions. According to Coach
Burris John Winter "played extremely
well" as he won his final
consolation match after losing to
top-seeded and eventual champion
Fred Rawlings of UNC by a 9-7, 8-6
decision. Biff Cooper and Doug
Waterman were the other Cavaliers
to take third place honors. Waterman
was particularly outstanding as
he handled Cohen of Maryland and
Finger of Duke, both of whom had
beaten him in regular season play.

When asked to point out the
highlights of Virginia's tournament
performance, Coach Burrs immediately
cited Captain Mike
Eikenberry's first round decision
over North Carolina's top player.
Lee Langstroth, who had beaten
the Cavalier the day before in a
dual match. Due to a second round
confrontation with David Cooper
of Clemson, the eventual champion,
Eikenberry was eliminated from the
title competition but was able to
capture a fourth place in
consolation play.

Rounding out the Cavaliers'
singles performances were Jeff
Podesta who finished sixth at
number two and Andy Scheinman
who captured fifth place at the
third spot.

Commenting on his team's
overall showing at the tournament,
Coach Burris specifically
commended his players for their
performances under pressure.
Several key victories, including the
elimination of USC's second and
third doubles teams early in the
tournament, broadened the gap
between the Cavaliers and the
fourth and fifth place teams from
the expected five or six points to a
commanding 13 over Wake Forest
and 14 over USC. By the end of the
tournament Virginia held third
place securely.