Before the season began, Virginia men's tennis coach Brian Boland knew his team would take some lumps over the course of the season, especially with such a young and relatively inexperienced team. Over the past three matches, ACC competition has provided those lumps for the youthful Cavaliers in the form of a three-game losing streak.
Tough losses against Clemson and No. 52 Georgia Tech over the weekend put the Cavaliers winless in the ACC and down three straight matches. The Cavaliers hope to have better luck against non-conference foe American University today at 2 p.m.
"This is a tough stretch for the team," Boland said last week. "We are young and still coming together as a team, but the progress is there and that is all I ask of them right now. We go out and battle everyday and that is how you improve for years to come."
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This year is far from over, however, and the Cavaliers will hope to get back on the winning track when they travel to Washington, D.C. to take on the Eagles.
The fact that the match is against a team that is not in a big time conference, as American hails from the Patriot League, does not mean that the Eagles will not provide fierce competition.
American is coming off a 7-0 defeat of Georgetown over the weekend, which gave them eight straight wins in a row. The Eagles are 11-1 on the season, and are ranked No. 65 nationally, with their only loss coming to No. 46 William & Mary, who also beat the Cavaliers earlier in the season.
"We have to go out and play as hard as we can in every match," said junior first seed Michael Duquette. "We are putting the effort out, now we just need to have some execution when we go out. We have a lot of young guys and we are just starting to come together for us."
The Eagles are led by number one seed Bence Hamori, who has lost only two singles matches all spring. Hamori is second on the American team with nine singles wins on the year.
He will team up with fellow senior Josh Procacci in doubles, who has fared the best in singles this season. This spring, Josh has won every singles match, except for his matchup against William & Mary's second seed Sean Kelleher.
The Cavaliers will need their number one and number two seeds, Duquette and senior Jason Romesburg, to step up big against Hamori and Procacci if they hope to escape Reeves Court with a win. Though the Cavaliers are struggling, there is no question that the effort will be there against the Eagles.
"I couldn't have a better group of guys," Boland said. "I know it can be tough right now, but they go out and give their all every time they play and that's all we can ask for as a coaching staff."
American will have a little extra incentive to win, as their assistant coach Bear Schofield graduated from Virginia in 1998.
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