It was hard for the Virginia men's tennis team (10-9, 1-5 ACC) to put Saturday's victory over North Carolina State (4-16) into words.
The emotional win was important not just because it was their first in-conference win of the season, or because the win broke their four match losing streak. Not even the family and alumni on hand, including some whose playing days dated back over 50 years, were the most important part of the win. This victory was special because the men played without the fear of losing.
"They were willing to go out and play to win, and feel good about it," coach Brian Boland said, in between handshakes and praise from the large crowd. "They played under such pressure but didn't back down."
The pressure Boland was referring to was the two-match deficit the Cavaliers were facing after losing their top three seeded singles matches. Any Wolfpack victory in the three remaining matches would mean the Cavaliers' fifth straight loss. Virginia rallied and after two big wins at the fourth and fifth seeded slots, the crowd watched anxiously as sophomore Gregg Alpert clinched the Cavaliers' win in a thrilling three set match.
"I was in control of the match, but I gave up the momentum after the first set," Alpert said. "The pressure was good for me, and I knew I had to just go for it."
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The Cavaliers had opened up the match with strong doubles performances taking two of the three matches to pick up the doubles point.
Boland shifted around the doubles teams. The shift was successful with the seldom-used combination of Jay Curtis and Jason Romesburg in the second seed facing the Wolfpack's team of Bryce McGrory and John Davis. Along with Curtis and Romesburg's victory, the team of Stephen Nolen and Alpert convincingly defeated N.C. State's Jagjeet Sandhu and Ryan Boward to secure the doubles point. The top seeded doubles match between the Cavaliers' Michael Duquette and Jonathon Chou and the Wolfpack's Matt Lucas and R.J. Murray almost made it a clean sweep in the doubles for the Cavaliers. But Lucas and Murray were able to fend off Virginia's late round momentum and win the match in a tiebreaker.
N.C. State came back strong in the singles matches by winning each of the top three seeded match-ups and needed only one win on the remaining three courts to win the match.
As the crowd shifted over to the second set of courts at the Snyder Tennis Center, the momentum also shifted. Curtis brought the Cavaliers their first singles win of the afternoon. He defeated McGrory in three sets and helped set the tone for the remaining two matches.
Next, Chou rallied back after losing the first set by out-lasting the Wolfpack's Shane Sealy as he won the last two sets 7-5 and set the stage for an exciting ending.
With all eyes on the number six singles match between Alpert and Davis, the highly emotional play of Alpert secured the win for Virginia. The Virginia team was all smiles as Alpert powered a strong forehand that Davis returned into the net with a shout of frustration.
Alpert walked off the court into a surge of cheers from his teammates, family and alumni.
The Cavaliers continue their ACC action in College Park, Md., on Tuesday, where they will face the Terrapins.
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