The past two seasons, the No. 11 Virginia women's tennis team fell just short of the ACC Tournament's semifinal round. This year, the Cavaliers earned a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed at the tournament and are well positioned to break past the ACC quarterfinals as they face No. 27 Florida State this afternoon.
"I think we can beat any team in there," junior Lindsey Hardenbergh said. "We'll be able to handle being one of the top teams and having a target on our back."
The Cavaliers (18-6, 7-4 ACC) enter the three-day event with a four-game win streak and are fresh off two impressive road victories against No. 12 Clemson and No. 13 Georgia Tech. Those season-ending victories, which marked Virginia's first-ever road wins against top-15 programs, capped off a 2011 regular season during which the Cavaliers matched their all-time win total with 18 triumphs.
Florida State (12-7, 7-4 ACC), meanwhile, also rides into the tournament brimming with confidence. During the final weekend of the regular season, the Seminoles notched rare upsets against No. 4 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke - teams previously undefeated in the conference - in back-to-back games.
No. 34 senior Katie Rybakova played an integral part during the surprise victory against Duke as she downed No. 38 senior Nadine Fahoum in straight sets on the top court. Rybakova, who defeated sophomore Hana Tomljanovic during the Cavaliers' 5-2 victory last month, earned an All-ACC nomination for a strong season of work near the top of the Seminoles' lineup.
"To say that they have momentum is an understatement," coach Mark Guilbeau said of the Seminoles. "It will definitely be a tough matchup, that's for sure."
To keep Rybakova and the rest of the Florida State squad at bay, the Cavaliers will ask the top of their own lineup to play focused and hard-fought tennis while those on the lower courts collect wins as well.
Hardenbergh likely will play at the No. 1 singles position for Virginia. The 2011 All-ACC nominee already set a school record with 37 singles victories and went 11-0 against conference opponents this season. Hardenbergh also sports a No. 28 national ITA ranking - the highest ranking of her three-year collegiate career.
"I think she's playing a higher level than she's ever played throughout her entire career," Guilbeau said. "She feels really confident in her ability to play high-percentage tennis and a really reliable style of play that allows her to do really well on the court."
Behind the red-hot Hardenbergh, Guilbeau most likely will send junior Emily Fraser to compete at the No. 2 spot. Fraser currently owns a No. 54 national ranking and strung together a solid 6-3, 6-4 victory against Florida State redshirt sophomore Noemie Scharle during the teams' first meeting earlier this season.
Tomljanovic, sophomore Erin Vierra, freshman Caryssa Peretz and sophomore Maria Fuccillo should round out the rest of the Cavaliers' lineup at the event. Vierra and Fuccillo, especially, have hit their stride lately and will hope to provide a boost for Virginia on the lower three courts.
"I think we're competing at the best level that we have across the board and really matching intensity well," Hardenbergh said. "We're so much deeper, and we're competitive at every spot. All throughout the lineup ... we've shown we can win."
If the deep lineup advances to the semifinal round, Virginia likely will encounter No. 1-seeded Duke. The winner of the semifinal matchup will move on to the final matchup slated for April 24.\nVirginia knows not to expect victories, but also realizes if it can advance to that final day, it has the opportunity to host an NCAA Regional match in mid-May.
"It's one of those conferences where you can win or lose every time you walk out on the court," Hardenbergh said. "This is the last chance of the season when we can take what we want. We've been working hard toward that, but it's another thing to get it done. But when we have that kind of focus and desire to win, we can do [anything]"
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