The Virginia men's tennis team will attempt to jump back on the winning track this afternoon when they travel to Richmond to take on the Spiders at the University of Richmond Tennis Complex at 2:30 p.m.
The Cavaliers will look to rebound from a tough weekend during which Virginia dropped contests against No. 22 Wake Forest and No. 14 Duke in two conference matchups, putting them at 8-5 overall and 0-3 in ACC matches.
Virginia held strong in the doubles matches - they won one of the three matches on both days - before faltering against the perennial conference powers in the singles competition. Though the team suffered tough setbacks, losing 6-1 to Wake Forest and 7-0 against Duke, coach Brian Boland said he remains pleased with the way some of his players are battling through the season.
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One player who really impressed Boland over the weekend was freshman Stephen Nolen, who came a game away from upsetting the No. 103 ranked player in the country, Duke star freshman Jason Zimmerman. Nolen had a lead of 5-2 in the second third set before Zimmerman turned on his game and won the next five games to win the match.
"Even though he lost, I am very proud of the way he played," Boland said of Nolen's near upset. "It wasn't a matter of Stephen not playing well, but more a factor of [Zimmerman] really turning it on. He really battled the entire match though, and I love the way he is beginning to play."
Earlier in the day Nolen teamed with No. 1 seed Michael Duquette to upset the 17th ranked doubles team in the nation in dominating fashion, 8-1.
Though the team has failed to gel together and finish off the big wins, they are certainly hungry for them to start.
"I can't wait to get back on the court," Nolen said. "I am really happy with my game right now, and though there are a few things to work on, I am starting to pick up my game. We are young, but we are starting to come together as a team."
The Cavaliers will need continued good play out of Nolen because the 10-7 Spiders will try to get their 11th win against the young Cavaliers.
"We have a tough schedule this week" Boland said. "We play a good Richmond team on Tuesday before taking on Brown, who challenged No. 1 Georgia earlier in the year. We have to start coming together."
The Spiders will offer a tough match after their five-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt against Old Dominion. Boland likely will run the same lineup against the Spiders that he used over the weekend, allowing his players to get comfortable in their seeds.
The Spiders, like Virginia, are very young. They played three freshmen and two sophomores in their latest match against Old Dominion, and their only other major player is a junior. Richmond is very inexperienced, which has proven troublesome in big matches against Virginia Commonwealth and William & Mary.
"We have a tough road coming up," Nolen said. "But I know we have a good team. We have a lot of talent and heart, and I think we all want to get back out on the court and get another win"
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