Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
With the Virginia men's tennis program soaring to new heights and a women's squad as solid as any in recent memory, there is a group of tennis players on Grounds whose national championship aspirations are easily overlooked.
Last year, six members of the Virginia club tennis team traveled to Daytona Beach, Fla., and took the silver medal in a field of 40 teams at the USA Team Tennis National Campus Championships. Two years ago, they finished third, and this year, the goal is obvious.
"Our strongest players are all still here, plus we have new girls," senior Shoa Tavassoli said. "The club tennis team gets stronger every year, and whoever goes to nationals will definitely bring home the gold."
A few years ago, that sort of bravado and Virginia tennis went together about as well as lamb and tuna fish, but now things are different.
Both the varsity program and the club team have seen recent success like never before, and the correlation is no coincidence.
"A lot of guys were hoping to play varsity," said men's president Elliot Rosenblum. "With the success of the varsity, they've had to come down to the club team. The strength of our team just goes to show how much stronger the varsity squad is this year."
This trickle-down effect is not just indicative of the new level of the men's team. The women's side also is reaping the benefits of a stronger varsity program.
"I think it's because of the varsity level increasing that we've been able to increase as well," said women's captain Nari Ker. "This group of girls is probably the top group that we've had. [The freshmen] get better every year. It makes me glad to be on the team already."
The group's first big step on the road to this year's national championships, taking place in sunny San Diego, is a tournament they are hosting the first weekend in October. Cornell and Georgetown are among the teams slated to come, and Ker stressed how the Virginia teams are trying to make the tournament as open as possible, welcoming a slew of schools that recently started club tennis programs.
That sort of attitude is common now in club tennis, as the sport is growing by leaps and bounds. About 50 teams are expected to play at this year's national championships. In the first year of competition in 2000, there were only 10.
There has also been a great deal of growth within the Virginia club program, with over 100 athletes trying out this year and plans to send two teams of six -- three men, three women -- to represent the school at nationals.
The expectations will be high for whoever represents the team in San Diego. After all, with a third-place finish two years ago and a second-place finish last year, it's clear what should come next.
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