While many of the students at Virginia are busy getting tans on any number of beaches, two Cavaliers were hard at work.
Virginia sophomores Stephen Nolen and Warren Knapp were in Tennessee last week to compete in the 13th annual Little Caesar's ETSU Championships, which took place in Johnson City, Tenn.
The two up-and-coming tennis stars represented the University well as they took home championship trophies in both singles and doubles competition. The event is a part of the ongoing ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit that showcases some of the best talent in the collegiate ranks.
Nolen, who spent much of the year at No. 2 singles for the Cavaliers, took on ACC rival Jonathan Janda from North Carolina and beat him in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, to take the singles championship.
"Going into the tournament, I felt pretty good," Nolen said. "I wasn't expecting to win the tournament, but I knew how I'm capable of playing. I took one match at a time and got some good experience from the matches I competed in."
He then teamed up with fellow sophomore Knapp to take home the doubles title, 8-2, over Will Glenn and Chris McDonald. The doubles win was especially impressive as it came over two highly ranked collegiate players.
Glenn is a junior at Georgia, which held the No. 1 ranking for much of the 2002 season. McDonald, Glenn's summer partner, was a first-team All-SEC selection in doubles at Florida in 2001. McDonald, who usually goes up against Glenn in the regular season, was ranked as high as No. 14 in doubles, winning 25 matches this season.
Nolen was an emerging star this season when he tied for the team lead in singles victories with 21 in only his freshman season. He teamed up with No. 1 seed Michael Duquette in doubles this season. Knapp, who also will be a sophomore this season, was 3-1 in limited opportunities as a singles player.
Nolen and Knapp were not the only Virginia tennis players to stand out in summer tournaments, as Jennifer Tuchband advanced to the main draw of the United States Tennis Association $10,000 Challenger event in Baltimore, Md.
Tuchband, who competed at No. 2 singles for most of the 2001 season, defeated Tennessee's Agnes Wiski, 6-2, 7-5, Stanford's Lauren Barnikow, 6-1, 6-1, and Illinois' Kate Boomershine, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, in her journey to the main draw of the tournament.
Barnikow was an All-American for the national champion Stanford Cardinal last season, as she finished ranked No. 20 in the nation. Tuchband was ranked as high as No. 78 in the country during the season, and will look to raise more eyebrows when the main draw begins tomorrow.
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