“People have underrated us.”
Senior Dominic Inglot will have a chance to prove his critics wrong this weekend when the No. 5 Virginia men’s tennis team steps into the national spotlight and tries to defend its ITA National Indoor Championship title in Chicago.
Virginia (8-0, 1-0 ACC) will take on No. 12 Tulsa (9-1) in the first round of the 16-team tournament. In No. 1 singles, No. 43 Inglot will face No. 10 senior Arnau Brugues, the third top-10 player Inglot will face this season. Inglot’s first victim was No. 9 Enrique Olivares of East Tennessee State. Inglot won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 in a 7-0 Virginia romp. He then defeated No. 4 Bruno Agostinelli in come-from-behind fashion, 3-6, 6-4,10-8 in a 6-1 rout of Kentucky over the weekend. Brugues, a three-time All-American, has yet to lose in singles this season, despite Tulsa’s 3-4 loss against No. 2 Texas. Although he won both his singles match 6-4, 6-2, and his doubles match with partner Philip Stevens, 8-6, Tulsa relinquished its 3-2 lead, succumbing to Texas’s superior depth. If Virginia is to advance to the quarterfinals, it may need to exploit this weakness.
“We are better at No. 2 and No. 3 than last year,” Inglot said. “The depth is better. Lower down the lineup, we’re very strong.”
It is telling that Virginia’s highest nationally ranked singles player, No. 11 sophomore Michael Shabaz, plays in the three-spot behind Inglot and sophomore Sanam Singh. Virginia’s three top singles and doubles teams are all undefeated.
Even further down the lineup in the No. 4 to No. 6 spots, the Cavaliers boast an impressive 19-4 combined singles record. Tulsa dropped all three of its matches in those spots against Texas, so if Virginia junior Houston Barrick and junior Lee Singer can continue their recent productivity, the team will have a great chance to advance.
A win in the first round would set up a potential rematch with No. 4 UCLA, which Virginia defeated in the quarterfinals of last year’s National Indoors by a score of 4-3. But no matter who the Cavaliers face, the competition in the tournament will be some of the fiercest Virginia has faced all season.
“The teams will get tougher,” Shabaz said. “We’re competing for a National Championship. We have a lot of confidence going into it.”
As such, Virginia stepped up its training regiment this week to prepare for the competition. Even after the team’s 7-0 demolition of Maryland Sunday, Inglot said the team has not rested.
“These next three days are vitally important days of training,” Inglot said, adding that he intends to focus on his serve and volley before the tournament. “You have to think about what you want out of the three days.”
Although the team has not yet looked ahead to potential matchups against UCLA and No. 1 Ohio State, Virginia coach Brian Boland said he believes the Cavaliers are heading into this weekend’s tournament with confidence.
“The important thing is to go into indoors with momentum,” Boland said. “We’re focused on the next match — it’s a big step.”
If Virginia can carry its momentum through the tournament, it may finally gain recognition as a serious NCAA Championship contender this season.
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