“It’s a vicious cycle.”
That’s how Virginia men’s tennis player senior Dominic Inglot described his struggle of overcoming a torn rotator cuff injury.
Although the injury was officially diagnosed last spring, Inglot said the initial problems surfaced when he was a freshman playing in the NCAA tournament. In the fall of 2007, Inglot said he took four painkillers before each match, but by spring, four was not enough.
“I took 12 painkillers against Illinois [last year],” Inglot said. “I came through, but I had to see the doctors afterward, and they found a tear in [my shoulder].”
Inglot had trouble grasping the prospect of surgery, not only because of the obvious setback it would mean for his level his play, but also because of the effect it would have on his teammates.
“With me playing in the No. 3 spot, the rest of the guys could play lower down against easier opponents,” Inglot said. “So I decided to tough it out.”
The pain, however, only intensified from then on, and Inglot was forced to take a cortisone shot before the ACC tournament.
“By the ACCs, all my confidence was gone,” Inglot said. “I had lost so many matches — it was difficult to get back to form.”
Inglot added that if his shoulder had been healthy last spring, his match with Georgia’s Luis Flores in the third round of the NCAA tournament “definitely would have been closer.” He lost the singles match, 6-2, 6-1, and the previously undefeated Virginia squad was knocked out of the tournament by the Bulldogs 4-3.
Two days after the NCAAs, Inglot underwent surgery. After locating the tear in the rotator cuff, doctors carved it out. Rehabilitation ensued after the surgery, and Inglot said he focused on strengthening his shoulder.
“The serve and forehand were problems for me,” Inglot said. “Accuracy on the serve is vital for me. Knowing when you’re down, you need to believe in your serve. When you lose that [ability], your confidence goes.”
This fluctuating trajectory of confidence proved troubling for Inglot. In addition to the physical uphill climb he faced, he said the mental roadblock was intransigent.
“Coach [Brian] Boland even showed me DVDs of all the great points I made to remind me of how I could play,” Inglot said.
Slowly but surely, Inglot came back to full form. He is now playing at the No. 1 singles spot on the team and was named the ACC Player of the Week Tuesday for the second time this season after winning two matches during the weekend, including a 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 victory against Kentucky’s No. 4 Bruno Agostinelli . Inglot is undefeated this season in both singles and doubles, leading No. 5 Virginia to a perfect 8-0 start.
Boland confirmed Inglot’s physical improvement.
“This is the healthiest Dom has ever been,” Boland said.
Inglot said his new position on the team has reminded him of the big shoes he has to fill and has pressured him into improving his game.
“There was pressure at the beginning versus Illinois,” Inglot said. “Replacing [2008 graduate] Somdev [Devvarman] as No. 1 is a big place to fill ... You would look up to Somdev, he would lead us into battle.”
Although Inglot said he recognized the need to emulate the former No. 1 player, he added that the emerging leadership capabilities of other players also has helped.
“It really helps to have [sophomore] Michael [Shabaz] and [sophomore] Sanam [Singh] and [junior] Houston [Barrick],” Inglot said. “The younger guys are looking up to them, too.”
And so the cycle continues; for Inglot and Virginia, however, it is now on a more favorable upward trajectory.
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