Tennis is often considered a warm weather sport. But despite chilly winds and 40-degree weather, the Virginia men's and women's tennis teams have been playing since early February.
The men's team kicked off its 2001 spring season Feb. 17 when the Cavaliers (1-1) traveled to Old Dominion and defeated the Monarchs, 5-2. They then trekked to Tallahassee, Fla., where they dropped a heartbreaker to Florida State, 4-3, on March 3. The planned match against Jacksonville the next day was cancelled because of inclement weather.
"We have not played very much so far, not as much as most other teams, especially with the rain-out in Florida," men's coach Dick Stockton said. "We lost a tough, close match against FSU, but this team has always been resilient and has always been able to bounce back. It's going to get hard and heavy the next weeks."
Seniors Brian Vahaly and Huntley Montgomery lead the Virginia squad, which is ranked 48th in the nation. Vahaly is the nation's 13th-best men's singles player, while Montgomery is ranked No. 99. The pair comprises the nation's top doubles team.
Vahaly and Montgomery are not only the top players on the team, but also this year's co-captains, providing much-needed leadership on an untested squad. In a conference as competitive as the ACC, Virginia will need as much direction as it can get.
"Our team is pretty good, and we're obviously expecting big things from Vahaly," Stockton said. "But for us to be successful, we're going to need other guys who may be inexperienced to step it up a notch."
The Cavalier women (4-2) started their season even earlier on Feb. 3. They opened with a 4-3 loss to Old Dominion but bounced back with four straight wins over Princeton (5-2), Pennsylvania (4-3), Dartmouth (6-1) and Richmond (5-2). The streak ended Sunday, however, when Virginia fell to Harvard, 5-2.
"It was a tough first loss to ODU," women's asst. coach Justin Drzal said. "We played a timid first match, but we came back with nice wins and hit a stride in the early part of spring season. Despite the Harvard loss, it gave us good direction heading into the meat of our season which is coming up."
Junior Amy O'Donnell, who sat out the fall season while recovering from shoulder surgery, fills the top spot for the Cavaliers and has made the most of her comeback. O'Donnell, in just her third singles match after her injury, defeated Pennsylvania's Sanela Kunovac, the East Region's No. 4 player, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
Filling out the top six are sophomore Henriette Williams, senior Christie Schweer, freshman Laura James, sophomore Jennifer Tuchband and senior Kelly Weaver.
Like the men, the Virginia women are also a bit inexperienced, but they have high hopes entering into the grueling part of their season.
"Every match from here on end is an opportunity to make a dent in our schedule and make a statement" for the NCAA tournament selections committee, Drzal said. "We want the opportunity to prove ourselves to the collegiate community. If we play tough, give our best and try, that's all that matters."
The women will head to Florida on Saturday for four matches before returning to Charlottesville to host in-state rivals Virginia Tech on March 21 and Virginia Commonwealth on March 25.
The men will open their home campaign against American and Hampton tomorrow and Sunday, respectively. Both matches will be held at the Snyder Tennis courts at 1 p.m.
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