After a not-so-sunny weekend saw Virginia record its first loss in the ACC this season, the No. 15 Cavaliers will look to regain lost ground when they travel to College Park to take on Maryland this afternoon.
Virginia (16-3, 4-1 ACC) lost to North Carolina (20-2, 6-0 ACC), 5-2, Saturday in a battle for first place in the ACC. The Cavaliers then dropped two straight points Sunday before eventually going down, 4-2, to the Horned Frogs of TCU. As disappointing as the weekend was for Virginia, assistant coach Tony Bresky believes the team has learned from the experience.
"We're going to learn from [the games against UNC and TCU] and see it in a positive light," Bresky said.
Head coach Brian Boland echoed the sentiments of his assistant, noting the importance of last weekend for the program.
"We have a really good team, and I think the future is bright," Boland said. "This is the step that we needed. Sure it's painful, but it's good for us."
The losses also brought back memories from last season when the young Cavaliers saw their bright season blighted by key ACC losses at the end of the season. Last year, Duke was the team that opened the gates of ACC misery, and the Cavaliers will look to avoid the same fate this year as the program seeks to define itself among the elite in the nation.
Since Virginia has played two top-20 teams back to back, the unranked Terrapins may provide a welcome breather for Virginia before crucial games against the likes of No. 5 Duke. Maryland (8-7, 0-6 ACC) has yet to win in the ACC and has suffered heavy defeats against all of its ACC opponents. Maryland lost 7-0 to both Georgia Tech and Clemson, teams Virginia had no trouble dispatching.
For Virginia to be assured victory come Wednesday, the team will need to get off to a good start in doubles. The No. 14 ranked doubles duo of Nick Meythaler and Rylan Rizza suffered two losses over the weekend, which jeopardized the team's chance of taking the doubles point. In both matches, Virginia dropped the doubles point, leaving them in a 1-0 hole before singles play.
A bright spot for Virginia over the last couple games has been the contribution of freshman Marko Miklo. Miklo was the only Cavalier to win both of his singles matches last weekend.
A key concern for the coaching staff is fatigue. The team recently has tried to recuperate in preparation for an extremely tough part of their schedule.
"We're just going to have one practice before the game Wednesday, and we're just going to try to have an upbeat practice," Bresky said. "[We'll be looking to] let everyone hit a lot of balls and definitely try to get back outside, which this time of year is so hard."
After taking on Maryland, Virginia will return home to face Old Dominion tomorrow.
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