The Cavaliers will travel to Millbrook Exchange Park outside Raleigh, N.C. Thursday to open the final chapter in the story of their spring season.
No. 5 Virginia will kick off the rounds of ACC tournament play that will continue through the weekend in a match-up on Friday against No. 4 Georgia Tech.
Should Virginia dominate the Yellow Jackets, the Cavaliers will advance to the semifinals Saturday, where they would meet the winner of the No. 1 Duke-No. 9 NC State competition.
The Cavaliers were stung by the Yellow Jackets in the last meeting between the pair on March 28 in Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers fell, 4-3.
In that meeting, Virginia fell behind early after dropping the doubles point. While the Cavaliers mounted a comeback attempt, dominating the No. 4, 5 and 6 singles, they were unable to maintain control on the first three courts.
However, since the teams are generally considered to be of a comparable caliber, the upcoming match has no clear favorite.
Finding themselves in the middle of the conference rankings pack, the Cavaliers have the opportunity to capture an early win before facing any of the ACC's more potent squads.
Senior Jen Tuchband reflected on the lineup of opponents and the likelihood of Virginia advancing into the later rounds of the tournament.
"We're definitely excited," Tuchband said. "Because you go into the draw based on your rankings. We've been hoping for a certain draw and we knew if we got these matches, we could get" that draw.
All season the Cavaliers have oriented their practices in the hopes that they would reach their peak performance for the tournament and anticipate a surge of energy in the opening round that should create a rush of momentum to carry them through.
"I'm excited because we have a really good opportunity because, though we lost to Georgia Tech and to Clemson, we now have our full line-up with Lori [Stern] back," senior Henriette Williams said.
Virginia will enter the tournament 14-8 on the season, but only 4-4 in the ACC. However, they will be riding a three game win streak over ACC opponents Wake Forest, NC State and Maryland.
Yet when facing the other half of the ACC, Virginia was less successful.
The Cavaliers met top-ranked Duke in a difficult match on the road two weeks ago, and hope that they will not see a repeat of the struggles there.
The Cavaliers say they remain confident in their abilities based on the talent they have exhibited and the months of hard work they have invested.
"I think we have a good chance of doing as well or better than we've ever done," Tuchband said.
The season has been a productive one overall and Virginia attributes that affect largely to the leadership of the seniors who have made a major impact on the maturation and cohesiveness of the young team.
"Definitely this has been the biggest thing in my life here," Williams said."And for it to be over is sad. But it's been such a good experience and I've loved all the girls."
Following their ACC appearance, the Cavaliers are hopeful to close the season with a NCAA tournament stint and reestablish the team's dominance in the rankings for the 2003 fall pre-season rankings.
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