A weekend of ACC tennis play ended for the men's and women's teams with the No. 3 men defeating unranked Miami 4-0 and the No. 69 women dropping to Georgia Tech 4-1 and Clemson 6-1.
After waiting four hours from the scheduled start time and moving 10 miles away to use the indoor facilities at Boar's Head Sports Club, the Cavalier men got off to a fast start in doubles. At No. 3 doubles Doug Stewart and Darrin Cohen cruised to an 8-5 victory, which was shortly followed by an 8-3 win by Treat Huey and Somdev Devvarman at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point.
Coach Brian Boland said his Cavaliers were fazed much less by the venue change than the Hurricanes were.
"It was probably more difficult for Miami," Boland said. "They've never played a match indoors. From that standpoint, we're much more able to adjust to situations that come up."
The Cavaliers started off strong in singles. At No. 1, Virginia's Doug Stewart fended off Josh Cohen's attempts to pick on Stewart's backhand, overpowering Cohen to a 6-2, 6-4 win to make the score 2-0. At No. 3, freshmen Somdev Devvarman extended his 11-game single's winning streak by outsmarting Miami's Eric Hechtman 6-4, 6-4. After overcoming a wrist injury to start the season, Devvarman has improved with every match.
"I had the injury, but now I'm feeling stronger all the time," Devvarman said. "The more I play, the more confident I get. Every time I step on the court, I've been getting better and better. It's feeling good."
The match ended at 4-0 after Rylan Rizza came back from a set down to take the third set in a tiebreaker against Hurricane Tim Krebs, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(2). Rizza never let Krebs in the tiebreaker, winning the first four points to all but assure a Virginia win. Play ended once the match had been clinched because of time restrictions and the venue change.
The women's tennis team had a difficult weekend, falling to No. 6 Georgia Tech 4-1 Saturday and No. 15 Clemson 6-1 Sunday. Matched up against more talented competition, Virginia hustled but just could not keep up.
"Winning isn't as important as how we play together as a team and on the court," freshmen Rachel DelPriore said Sunday after the Clemson match.
DelPriore, fully recovered for the first time after injuries that plagued her the last few months, notched the Cavaliers' only point against the Tigers, dispatching Daniela Alvarez 6-4, 6-0.
"Even though we lost, we still played together as a team," DelPriore said. "When you're on the court, your teammates in the court next to you give you energy and keep you positive."
The rest of the Cavaliers fell in straight sets to the Tigers. Kristen James fell to the No. 2 player in the country, Julie Coin, 6-1, 6-0, Douglas Wink lost to No. 88 Romy Farah, Marta Bechliwanis dropped to Maria Brito 6-2, 6-2, and Lindsey Pereira was beaten by Carol Salge 6-3, 6-4.
The Cavalier women play at Duke and North Carolina next weekend, and the men host Maryland Wednesday.
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