With the regular season winding down and the ACC Tournament just two weeks away, the No. 18 Virginia women's tennis team is eying a much-needed boost of confidence from this weekend's matches against N.C. State and Wake Forest. The two matches mark the Cavaliers' final home appearances of the regular season.
The Cavaliers (14-6, 3-4 ACC) are in the midst of a difficult stretch and are searching to re-establish the strong level of play that guided them to their first-ever top-10 ranking earlier this season. After jumping out to a 2-0 start in conference play, Virginia has dropped four out of its last five matches and fallen to sixth-place in the ACC.
"It's critical [to earn victories this weekend]," coach Mark Guilbeau said. "If we want to do what we set out to do and what we looked like we kind of had positioned ourselves to do in the middle of the season ... we need to win all four of these remaining regular season matches."
Standing in the way of the Cavaliers' potential upswing are two win-hungry squads in Wake Forest (6-11, 0-7 ACC) and N.C. State (11-6, 2-5 ACC). Although both the Demon Deacons and the Wolfpack reside in the cellar of conference standings, Guilbeau believes each possesses a strong set of skills that could pose challenges for the Cavaliers.
"They're both very good teams," Guilbeau said. "N.C. State [especially] is extremely strong and really a dangerous team because of their strength at the top. We're going to need everyone to play at their highest level."
N.C. State most likely will rely on its talented doubles pairings to grab early momentum away from the Cavaliers during tomorrow afternoon's match. The No. 29 tandem of senior Sanaa Bhambri - a top-30 singles player - and junior Sandhya Nagaraj has played at a consistently high level all season long, while freshman Joelle Kissell has earned victories during 10 of her last 11 doubles matches.\nWake Forest, meanwhile, will look to threaten the Cavaliers during singles play. Junior Martina Pavelec currently touts a top-30 ranking at the No. 1 position, while junior Kayla Duncan has downed three of her last four opponents at the No. 4 position.
Pavelec, who earned all-conference honors following her sophomore campaign, likely will match up against either junior Emily Fraser or junior Lindsey Hardenbergh at the top singles spot. Because of Hardenbergh's recently dependable play, Guilbeau has bumped the junior up to the No. 1 position twice during the last two weeks. The Fairfax, Va. native responded well to the move, notching convincing victories during both stints at the spot usually occupied by Fraser. Hardenbergh currently boasts a six-match win streak.
"She's definitely a player that we can count on when we play our matches," sophomore Hana Tomljanovic said. "I think it's really great to have someone in the lineup that we know that is always going to get the win. She has great energy on the court, and I think that is definitely great for our team."
Hardenbergh played a crucial role in the Cavaliers' 5-2 victory against the Demon Deacons earlier this season and will look to reassert her dominance during the second go-around, as well. She, along with sophomore Erin Vierra, rallied Virginia back from an early deficit during doubles play before securing a straight-set victory at the No. 2 position. The Cavaliers' only losses during that bout occurred on the No. 1 court against Pavelec and on the No. 4 court, where Vierra fell.
Tomljanovic expects that the second meeting between the two programs will be hard-fought, but that the Cavaliers ultimately will prevail behind a concentrated effort to focus on the aspects of their game that led the squad to new heights earlier this season.
"I don't think our confidence is ruined, but I definitely think we are on the right track to bounce back with critical wins," Tomljanovic said. "I definitely think it's going to be a solid two matches, but I think we're ready."
The Cavaliers' match against N.C. State is slated to begin tomorrow at noon. Following that matchup, Virginia will make its final regular season home appearance Saturday at noon. Both matches are scheduled to take place at the Snyder Tennis Courts.
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