As conference play begins to get into full swing, the No. 11 Virginia women's tennis team welcomes Boston College to Charlottesville tomorrow for a midday match.
The No. 39 Eagles (7-5, 2-0 ACC) enter the bout brimming with confidence after staging a 4-3 comeback win against No. 61 Long Beach State last Friday. Junior Katarina Gajic propelled her team to the close victory, clinching the go-ahead point in the third set tiebreak at the No. 3 singles position. Gajic's win allowed the Eagles to triumph and snap a two-game losing skid.
Although Boston College has failed to play dominant tennis during its last three games, the squad is currently ranked higher than any other team in program history. The Cavaliers (12-2, 1-0 ACC) also reached an all-time high ranking this season, and coach Mark Guilbeau believes that both teams are eager to further their impressive climb in the polls.
"I know Boston College is really hungry," Guilbeau said. "When you're doing new things [and] establishing new standards for your program, it creates great excitement. So I think we're very similar in that regard."
Guilbeau also noted that both squads possess similarly deep lineups which can pose threats at all positions both in singles and in doubles play.
"It's going to be a match where each individual player on our team is going to have to come really prepared to play well," he said.
Guilbeau said sophomore Maria Fuccillo will be an especially crucial asset in the evenly-matched conference battle. The standout sophomore earned a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory against Virginia Tech junior Shannon Betts during last weekend's ACC opener. Fuccillo also paired up with freshman Rashmi Teltumbde to garner another point for the Cavaliers in doubles play. Fuccillo's strong outing allowed the Cavaliers to cruise to a 7-0 victory against the Hokies.
"Her style of play makes us a unique team in that she can get to the net so much," Guilbeau said.
Fuccillo believes that she will need to maintain a high level of intensity against the Eagles, despite their lower ranking and recent struggles on the court, to continue providing a spark for the team.\n"I know they're going to get out here and shoot to beat us," Fuccillo said. "We know that they're going to be gunning for us, but we go out every match trying to gun for whoever it is. It should be a pretty competitive match."
Following tomorrow's 1 p.m. match, Virginia travels to College Park, Md. to take on Maryland in its first conference road match of the season.
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