The gloom of the snowy weather Sunday penetrated the ceiling of the indoor tennis courts at the Boar's Head Inn as the women's tennis team suffered their second loss in as many tries as they fell to the Clemson Tigers, 5-2.
Virginia started off the weekend not only confident and prepared, but also with an ITA ranking of 22 -- their highest since 1994. Tough ACC opponents foiled Virginia's attempt to climb any higher in the rankings and probably will cause the Cavaliers to slip from their present spot.
The first of the two difficult matches was Friday against 21st-ranked Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets defeated Virginia in their meeting last year and the return of the Jackets' No. 1 seed, Catherine Gunn, gave the team added momentum heading into the match with Virginia.
The match started off close and remained that way throughout, with Georgia Tech eventually defeating Virginia, 4-3. The doubles matches were the first and most competitive matches of the day. Virginia's No. 2 doubles team of Lori Stern and Kristen James, who currently are ranked number 38 in the ITA doubles rankings, gave the Cavaliers the only doubles victory of the day, defeating their opponents, 8-6.
According to head coach Phil Rogers, the pairing of Stern and James has been one of the nice surprises of the team this year.
"Lori and Kristen have been a big surprise this year," Rogers said. "They have been doing a really good job and playing some tough matches this year and coming out on top."
Though Stern and James performed well once again, the other two teams had more difficult matches against the Yellow Jackets. The number one team of Henriette Williams and Jennifer Tuchband were not able to overcome an early 4-1 deficit and ended up losing their doubles match, 8-5. Freshmen Kyle Montgomery and Lauren Bruch, who comprise the No. 3 team, lost by an 8-4 count.
The intense play and long points in the doubles matches continued into the singles matches. Virginia was able to stay even with Georgia Tech in singles play, with the Yellow Jackets winning the top three matches and Virginia the bottom three. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the doubles point became the decisive point in the match, giving the Yellow Jackets a one-point victory.
Coming off a difficult loss just two days prior, the women could not overcome the power of the Clemson team on a fast indoor surface. Clemson was able to sweep the doubles matches, earning a point, and then were able to win four of the six singles matches. The 5-2 loss to the Tigers was disappointing because it was Virginia's second loss to a ranked ACC team.
The weekend showed the improved level of ACC competition this year. With five teams ranked in the top 25, playing at a high level is crucial in ACC matches.
"We seemed at about 85 percent," Rogers said. "Unfortunately, women's tennis is like men's basketball, and there are a number of good teams out there. So while 85 percent is a passing grade, it is not good enough. We fought hard but we didn't play at our highest level."
The weekend may have been a disappointing one in terms of wins and loses for Virginia, but there were many bright spots that can be built upon to improve the team.
James won both her singles and doubles matches against Georgia Tech and then moved up a spot in the ladder to number three and claimed a hard fought victory against Clemson.James said she hopes to continue this high level of play against two more ACC foes this coming weekend.
"I'm playing well right now and playing against good teams allows me to have good competition which will help prepare me for Duke and North Carolina," James said.
Tuchband was the ACC player of the week for the week of March 17. She had a difficult loss to Jaime Wong of Georgia Tech but then composed herself and was able to win in straight sets against Clemson in spite being down 5-2 in the second set of her match.
"Winning today was pretty crucial because the ACC season is really tough," Tuchband said. "Last season I lost a couple of matches and got into a little slump. So the win today really helps my confidence."
Her win against Clemson was her 24th singles victory of the season, which is a Virginia record for most singles victories by a fourth year.
The Cavaliers next travel down to North Carolina for ACC competition against no. 1 Duke and No. 11 UNC.
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