”Your record halfway through the season doesn’t matter,” Elliott said. “Now it’s okay, yeah, it’s game seven. But really, I need day one energy and day one focus.”
George Gelnovatch: “To have them both back was unlikely, and you have two guys that are a handful.”
Down two sets to none, Virginia came all the way back.
“Coming off of a loss we really wanted to capitalize on today,” Nemec said.
Beat writers discuss key storylines.
"We need to make more big plays," Coach George Gelnovatch said.
Sophomore Keegan Rice won the singles crown, and the pairing of senior Mans Dahlberg and junior Dylan Dietrich captured the doubles title.
Virginia took the tune-up tournament in stride.
Louisville has only dropped 12 sets in 26 matches this season.
Virginia's nearly two-month unbeaten run finally came to an end.
"It was definitely uncomfortable because people were squeezing in really tight. The people working there kept saying, ‘It’s not our fault, it’s our bosses,’ but they also kept telling us to ‘scoot back,’ and if we did that, it would’ve made us even more cramped.”
“At the end of the day, it’s all belief,” Elliott said. “The heart of a champion doesn’t mean you’re perfect… but you believe beyond your circumstances.”
The loss was the Cavaliers’ first of the season.
The loss on the men’s side comes with a springboard-sized caveat — since Virginia no longer sponsors varsity diving, Florida’s divers competed completely uncontested and were still able to score toward the dual.
“Really disappointing to give up a goal inside five minutes and not take all three points," Coach George Gelnovatch said. "It feels like a loss.”
The Cavaliers fell flat in frustrating fashion Thursday night.
The Cavaliers enter the contest ranked higher than the Tar Heels for the first time since 2017.
With standout talent graduated from both the Cavalier and Gator rosters, both individual races and relays will be closer this go around, according to Coach Todd DeSorbo.
Even off the field and in academics, Lempers’ competitive spirit pushes her forward.
But were O’Leary to get to build that player instead of choosing just one, whose skills would her perfect player have?
