In its debut as the No. 1 team in the nation, the Virginia men’s tennis team won both matches of a doubleheader Saturday against No. 29 Boise State and Boston College at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Though Virginia (14-0, 2-0 ACC) prevailed in the first contest against Boise State (5-4) by a 5-2 margin, the victory did not play out as well as the Cavaliers might have liked.
“It’s about the time of the season now where there’ve been a lot of matches, a lot of training,” senior Dominic Inglot said, adding that it was difficult to play on short rest after the National Indoor Championships. “Every match is important, so you don’t have that many days off.”
In his first match since rising from No. 43 to No. 6 in the national rankings, Inglot played a formidable opponent in No. 62 senior Clancy Shields and lost 4-6, 3-6.
“Gotta give credit to Clancy,” Inglot said. “I didn’t serve very well ... It wasn’t a great day for me.”
Coach Brian Boland said he remains confident, however, that Inglot will continue to improve.
“The best is still yet to come with Dom,” Boland said before Saturday’s matches. “He’s healthy — which is the first time in his career that he’s played in the spring 100 percent healthy — but he’s yet to play his best tennis. Dom is going to continue to get better without any question as the spring moves forward.”
Questions, though, may still surround Ignlot’s health. Inglot said he tweaked a muscle during National Indoors but continued to play through the pain. He aggravated the injury again yesterday in doubles against Boise State and did not play in the singles against Boston College (6-2, 0-1 ACC) . After treatment, he expects he will be ready for Friday’s match against Virginia Tech, Inglot said.
Inglot was not the only highly ranked Cavalier to struggle in his first singles match since National Indoors. After taking the first set 6-4, No. 12 sophomore Michael Shabaz relinquished his lead to freshman James Meredith, who earned a point for the Broncos by winning the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Despite the initial upsets of Inglot and Shabaz, Virginia managed to regroup, showing its depth as an overall team. Virginia secured the match with wins from freshman Drew Courtney (6-1, 6-3) and Steven Eelkman Rooda (6-4, 6-4), as well as junior Houston Barrick (6-4, 6-4).
“The younger guys — especially the freshmen — are playing really well,” Inglot said. “It takes a lot of pressure off us older guys because we know they’ll back us up if we have a problem.”
The one constant that has contributed to every Virginia victory this season has been the play of undersized sophomore Sanam Singh. No. 17 Singh, who is listed at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 137 pounds, completed the 5-2 Virginia victory with a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6, 10-5 win against No. 57 Kean Feeder.
Singh has compiled a 12-0 singles record in 2009 — two wins of which came in his performance in the National Indoors tournament. In doubles, Singh and Barrick are ranked No. 2 in the nation and boast an 11-1 record.
“I worked a lot in the fall,” Singh said. “I wanted to focus a lot harder in matches in the fall which I didn’t do. So that’s what I’ve been doing [in the spring]. Everyone’s winning at the bottom — it’s easier to play.”
He didn’t miss a beat in the back-end of the doubleheader, either, leading Virginia to a 7-0 beat-down of Boston College. After grinding through an 8-5 win in No. 1 doubles with Barrick, Singh defeated junior Thomas Nolan in a 6-1, 6-1 singles victory, placing perfectly hit balls in both corners of the court.
“What I try to do now is stay more consistent, because I’m really quick on the court,” Singh said. “I knew [Nolan’s] forehand was a little bit better than his backhand so I was trying to open the court a lot to his backhand.”
With an impressive serve, crisp footwork and a solid return, Singh never lost control of the match. Nolan tried hitting the ball sideways, upward and even into the stands. The only place he could not land it was over the net.
“I served really well [against Boston College], which was a huge plus today,” Singh said. “I needed that quick win today ’cause it had been a long day.”
The weekend doubleheader now behind them, the Cavaliers will try to remain undefeated heading into Spring Break when they resume ACC play Friday against Virginia Tech.
Notes:
Against Boston College, Eelkman Rooda replaced Shabaz as Inglot’s doubles partner. The pair defeated Garber/Skinner, 8-2 ... Singh replaced Inglot in the No. 1 spot in singles against the Eagles. He usually plays No. 2 ... Junior Lee Singer, Courtney, and Singh lost a combined 5 games in six sets against the weekend’s conference foe.
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