Just three weeks after emerging as the crème de la crème of college tennis’s most accomplished programs in the National Indoor Championships, the No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team will face familiar competition this weekend when it travels to No. 11 Baylor and No. 10 Texas, two participants in the mid-season tournament.
Although the Cavaliers (17-0, 3-0 ACC) have been able to keep up with their demanding schedule thus far, the team will face two of its more challenging opponents of the season, as they head south to take on the Longhorns (11-2) and Bears (10-4) in difficult weather conditions.
“Those two matches are vital,” senior Dominic Inglot said. “Those two guys will be definite contenders for the NCAAs, especially Texas, and it’s also a good idea to get a good feel for what the weather is going to be like; Nationals is at Texas A&M.”
Inglot added that the team is still adjusting to outdoor play after competing in its first outdoor match of the season Tuesday, a 6-1 win against Old Dominion.
“It really gives us a good feel of what the kind of competition will be like outdoors,” Inglot said. “We’ve played them indoors but that’s a different kind of game, to be honest. Outdoors is a whole new game and we want to see how we match up against those guys.”
For Virginia, road-success begins with grabbing the doubles point to take control of the match.
“The doubles point is going to be crucial,” Inglot said. “It’s a real momentum-builder; I think we’re really looking good in doubles. When we get that point, we only need three singles after that — and everyone’s doing great — I have a lot of confidence, especially lower down in our lineup.”
Virginia’s depth has been a constant factor in the team’s success. Freshman Steven Eelkman Rooda has won six consecutive singles matches, placing him in the No. 5 spot for the Cavaliers. Fellow freshman Drew Courtney, who holds the No. 6 spot, has not given up a match since the first one of the season against Illinois, compiling a 12-match winning streak.
Though Virginia has continued to refine its singles attack, it also has continued improving its doubles game.
“I know doubles is very important,” sophomore Michael Shabaz said. “It’s very tough to take four points off us as a team.”
Neither the Longhorns nor the Bears have played particularly well in doubles. Though Texas features two top-35 tandems, it has dropped the point three times already this season, including two against ranked opponents — then-No. 13 Tulsa and then-No. 6 USC. Baylor, meanwhile, has performed weakly in doubles, losing the point in seven of its 14 matches.
It bodes well, therefore, for the Cavaliers that they have not dropped the doubles point since the team’s 4-3 come-from-behind victory against then-No. 4 UCLA in the quarterfinals of National Indoors. Since that break, the team has played nearly flawless tennis in the opening match, winning all 16 points and 36 of 38 matchups. The Cavalier attack is led by the No. 2 pair in the nation, Sophomore Sanam Singh and junior Houston Barrick, followed by No. 23 Inglot and Shabaz, and junior Lee Singer and Courtney.
Despite Virginia’s apparent advantage in the doubles department, neither opponent will yield easily. Like Virginia, Baylor defeated then-No. 6 UCLA by a score of 4-3, and Texas also beat a tough opponent in Tulsa.
Longhorn junior Dimitar Kutrovsky will test the Cavaliers in the No. 1 singles spot. Kutrovsky has compiled an 8-3 record on the year and was named last week’s Big 12 Player of the Week after leading his team to a 5-2 win against Vanderbilt. Baylor also boasts a standout junior of its own in Denes Lukacs. Although Lukacs plays No. 3 doubles for the Bears, he is currently ranked No. 10 nationally in singles. Baylor also has been particularly strong at home, carrying an eight-match home winning streak into the weekend contest against Virginia.
“We’ll be ready,” Cavalier coach Brian Boland said. “We certainly have plenty of time to practice outdoors and get our two-a-days in.”
Inglot said the team’s performance this weekend will have significant implications for the rest of the season.
“If we do well, that’ll give us a lot of confidence going into the rest of ACC season and especially into the NCAAs,” he said.
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