The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team looks to extend its perfect record when it collides with No. 32 Virginia Tech Friday at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
The Cavaliers (14-0, 2-0 ACC), entering their third conference match of the season, have played nearly flawless tennis against ACC opponents this season, sweeping both Maryland and Boston College 7-0 in previous matches. Last Saturday’s victory against Boston College also marked Virginia’s 33rd straight win against ACC opponents, a school record.
The team refuses to let its recent success breed complacency, however, knowing that a solid Virginia Tech squad (6-1, 1-0 ACC) will be fired up at the prospect of conquering the nation’s top team — which also happens to be its longtime rival.
“Tech is Tech,” Virginia senior captain Dominic Inglot said. “It’s always going to be important for us to play well. They’ll definitely pose a threat. They always do. We’re not going to take them lightly.”
Virginia Tech, whose lone loss of the season is a 5-2 defeat to then-No. 1 Ohio State, recently has played impressive tennis, including a 7-0 win against Boston College Friday and a 7-0 beat-down against Brown Saturday. Tomorrow will likely be a stiffer challenge for the Hokies though, going head-to-head with a team they have not beaten since 2003.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off two victories in Saturday’s doubleheader, defeating No. 29 Boise State 5-2 and Boston College. Though the scoreboard suggested a near-perfect Cavalier performance, Virginia players contend they did not play as well as they hoped, citing losses from No. 6 Inglot and No. 12 sophomore Michael Shabaz. Inglot fell to Boise State’s No. 62 senior Clancy Shields 4-6, 3-6, and Shabaz lost to Boise State freshman James Meredith 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.
“Everyone struggled a little bit today,” Inglot said after the matches. “I could say everyone was not 100 percent.”
Inglot in particular does not appear to be at full strength, especially after he re-aggravated a tweaked muscle in doubles against Boise State. The injury prompted him to forgo his singles match against Boston College, but he said he expects to play against the Hokies.
Even when some of its top players struggle, Virginia can rely on the steady play of its younger players, especially No. 17 sophomore Sanam Singh, who has racked up a 12-0 singles record this season. Singh hopes to justify his high national ranking after playing inconsistently Saturday; the sophomore dropped his first set 1-6 against Boise State’s No. 57 Kean Feeder but fought back to win the next two sets 7-6, 10-5. He then teamed with junior Houston Barrick to win No. 1 doubles against Boston College 8-5, improving the country’s No. 2 doubles tandem to an 11-1 season record.
The Cavaliers hope to use its balanced, deep roster against the Hokies. Virginia’s depth was on full display Saturday, as Barrick and freshmen Drew Courtney, Steven Eelkman Rooda and David Nguyen all won singles matches. Junior Lee Singer, Courtney and Singh only lost a combined five games in six sets against Boston College.
Virginia’s play is even more noteworthy in light of its schedule, as it followed a string of tough non-conference matches during National Indoors Feb. 13 to 16. The team fought hard to defeat its four opponents, all of whom were ranked in the top 12 nationally. Friday’s match against the Hokies will serve as Virginia’s last before a much-needed week off.
“It’s the last game before Spring Break,” Singh said. “We should be ready to just give it our all and take that well deserved week off.”
After the break, the Cavaliers will gear up for the season’s final stretch, which includes 11 matches before the ACC Tournament commences April 16. After that, Virginia likely will move on to the NCAA Championships, where it has lost in the semifinals the past two seasons.
“We haven’t come close to peaking,” Virginia coach Brian Boland said. “The guys have an excellent perspective of what our goals are.”
Hoping to continue their school record 39-match home win streak, the Cavaliers face off against Tech at 6 p.m.
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