Although Maryland is in last place in the ACC, the Virginia men's tennis team has plenty of incentive to take the team seriously in today's 2:30 p.m. game at the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center.
Virginia (10-5, 3-4 ACC) hopes to finish its ACC regular season with an even record and possible third seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament.
"It's important in that we want to close out the season at least .500 in the ACC and get a higher seed in the tournament," Virginia co-captain Brian Vahaly said. "Right now we can finish anywhere from three to six."
The Cavaliers should not have much reason for worry because the Terrapins (4-10, 0-7) are on a seven-match losing streak and are considered the weakest team in the ACC. The Terps lost their last match, 5-2, to N.C. State on Sunday.
"Maryland has not had scholarships for men's tennis in several years," Virginia coach Dick Stockton said. "They are by far the weakest team in the conference."
Fresh off an emotional 5-2 victory over N.C. State on Sunday, the Cavaliers are confident about winning the upcoming match. Virginia's leaders, senior captains and top seeds Vahaly and Huntley Montgomery, hope to dominate the match.
"It should be a match that we should definitely win," Vahaly said.
The Cavaliers have been tough to beat at home this season. Virginia has posted a 5-1 record in Charlottesville with the only loss coming against a powerful Georgia Tech squad on March 31.
Maryland sophomore Chris Chiu and senior Jonathan Neeter are the top two singles players and form the Terrapins' top doubles team. Chiu is 6-7 in singles play this year and has struggled through a difficult season.
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However, the Terrapins have little to lose and could end up surprising a few people. Maryland may be motivated by the fact that the match is its last chance for an ACC victory this season. Even the All-American Vahaly cautions against writing off the Terps.
"We just have to stay focused on this match and don't take them too lightly," he said.
Stockton recognizes that the match is an opportunity to get his younger players some valuable experience in ACC match play.
"We'll probably mix in some of our guys who have not normally played in the conference," he said. "It gives us a chance to get some of our other guys a little bit of experience. It gives them the opportunity to get a taste of what college tennis is all about, which is good since we'll need them in the future."
This match is also the final regular season ACC matchup that the senior Cavaliers will play. In addition to Vahaly and Montgomery, seniors Brian Hunter, Tommy Croker and Robert Abendroth hope they can finish the regular season strong before heading into postseason tournaments.
When all said and done, Vahaly makes his intentions for the upcoming match very clear.
"We haven't lost to them since I've been here," he said. "I think we should beat them soundly"
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