After starting their respective seasons in impressive fashion, both the Virginia men's and women's tennis teams will look to build off their early season success when they return to the court this weekend at the Boar's Head Sports Club.
On the men's side of the net, the undefeated Cavaliers will take on No. 36 Alabama on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and No. 70 Indiana on Saturday at 2 p.m. Virginia features a school record five players ranked in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and currently sits at No. 9 in the latest team poll after starting the season with commanding victories over Tennessee, Minnesota and Old Dominion. Each of the Cavaliers wins this season has been over an opposing squad ranked in the top 60.
Virginia players have lost only one of their 21 matches played, which may come as a surprise to some but not to assistant coach Tony Bresky.
"I definitely felt like we were capable of that as a team," Bresky said. "I don't think we sit around and say 'Let's go beat that team 7-0.' I'm not saying we expected to beat those teams, but we played well."
One of the main factors behind Virginia's dominance has been its depth, which Bresky and head coach Brian Boland have managed to exploit by starting a different lineup in each match.
"We have a great deal of depth on the team," Boland said. "We're trying to get everyone valuable experience. I think it's important to try to get everyone out there to see what they can do."
The last time Virginia took the court it defeated then-No. 22 Tennessee by a score of 6-1. Yet despite the wide margin of victory, Boland was not entirely pleased with his team's performance.
"I thought we came out a little bit flat and didn't play particularly well," he said. "We fought hard though and did a good job composing ourselves, given we didn't play at the level we are capable of."
The Cavaliers can bounce back and continue to wreak havoc on the Southeastern Conference with a win over Alabama.
"Coming out of the SEC, they know what competitive teams look like," Boland said. "They play in a strong conference and will come in ready to play."
With regard to Saturday's match, Boland says he feels that Indiana will present an equally formidable challenge.
"Last year they gave us a really tough match," he said. "They're scrappy. They'll pose problems for us if we don't play well."
This weekend's matches conclude Virginia's season-opening five match homestand. The Cavaliers will travel to Chicago next week for the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships, a tournament that includes 15 of the top 25 teams in the country.
On the women's side, Virginia currently sits at 2-1 after victories over Old Dominion and Michigan State and a loss to No. 6 Vanderbilt. The Cavaliers, ranked 51st in the nation, will take on No. 49 Pennsylvania in what promises to be a closely-contested matchup.
Penn is 0-1 on the season following a tough loss at No. 10 Miami. The Cavaliers will rely on their strong singles play this weekend to keep the Quakers out of the win column. Virginia went undefeated in singles a week ago en route to a 7-0 crushing of Old Dominion. Virginia freshman Diana Srebrovic of Oakville, Ontario is currently the No. 67 ranked singles player in the country and figures to play a major role in Saturday's match.
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