The No. 29 men's tennis team beat No. 75 Pacific Saturday to tie the team's best season start record.
The Cavaliers, now 9-0, began the day by sweeping the doubles matches. Only the team of sophomores Darrin Cohen and Doug Stewart had a close contest, but the pair still managed to deliver a 9-7 win.
After taking the lead with the doubles point, Virginia had a few scares from Pacific early in singles play.
The Tigers tied up the match with a strong straight set win at the No. 2 spot. Pacific's Arnar Sigurdsson beat Virginia sophomore Stephen Rozek 6-0, 6-3.
Freshman Marko Miklo regained the lead for the Cavaliers soon after Rozek's defeat with a 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 over Pacific's Niclas Otte. Miklo increased his personal winning streak to seven with the victory.
The Tigers then tied it back up with a 6-4, 6-4 win at the No. 6 spot. With the three remaining matches in the third set, the Cavaliers were far from an easy victory.
Cohen's win at No. 5 put the Cavaliers back in the lead while No. 1 Stewart continued to battle his strong opponent, Lennart Maack.
"When I got out there I was really surprised," Stewart said. "I didn't really know what to expect and he just came out ripping the ball. He was a good player and I really wasn't expecting him to be that good."
Difficult court conditions also caught Stewart off guard.
"There were tough conditions in the bubble," Stewart said. "It was a really fast court."
Despite Maack's impressive forehand, Stewart solidified the Cavaliers' lead with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 win.
Rylan Rizza finished off the Tigers at No. 4, giving the Cavaliers their final 5-2 lead.
"When you play a team that's dangerous like Pacific, you have to do a good job of focusing throughout the match," assistant coach Tony Bresky said. "Some of our guys were able to do that and some of our guys were not able to do that."
Bresky credited the team's tough schedule up to this point as having given Virginia a boost in the match.
"At this point the difference was our experience and some of the tough matches we have played," Bresky said. "The guys knew how to handle the situations they were in."
The Cavaliers have now tied their record for best season start and most consecutive wins. While the record shows the strength of the young team, both players and coaches said they are aware that their next match against No. 1 Illinois could be their toughest yet.
Regardless of the outcome, Bresky said the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country will benefit the players later in the season.
The players also said they view it as a chance to challenge themselves and their opponents.
"It is going to be a great opportunity for us," Rozek said. "There's no pressure. Everyone will bring there best tennis to Illinois and hopefully we'll have a chance."
Virginia will travel to Illinois next Saturday for a 6:30 match.
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