If there were any signs yesterday that the No. 3 Cavaliers were looking ahead to their ACC clash with No. 5 Duke Friday, they didn't show it against the Terrapins. Virginia ran the table against unranked Maryland, winning 7-0 to improve its record to 18-2, 6-0 in the ACC.
Coming off a 4-0 drubbing of Miami last weekend, the Cavaliers didn't miss a beat after coach Brian Boland gave the day off to junior Darrin Cohen and sophomore Marko Miklo and limited junior Doug Stewart to singles. In their places, Nick Meythaler, Steven Rozek, Eric Riley and Jarrett Chirico all stepped in to help Virginia continue its winning ways.
"They did a great job today," Stewart said. "It's hard coming in -- you only get a few chances to play. They've only played a couple dual matches, and it puts pressure on them when the team's doing so well."
In doubles, the freshmen duo of Riley and Chirico won 9-8 after a tiebreaker, joining their fellow freshmen Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey, who took little time in an 8-2 win and the junior team of Rylan Rizza and Nick Meythaler, who won 8-4.
In singles, the Cavaliers quickly dismissed the Terrapins. All matches were decided in straight sets. First to notch a point for Virginia was Huey, who took care of David Reichsfeld in under an hour, 6-1, 6-1.
"Lately I've been playing really well," Huey said. "Somdev and I came out really strongly in doubles, and I was able to build on that in singles pretty handily."
The points then came in quick succession, with Rozek and Devarrman both winning 6-3, 6-2, followed by Meythaler, who won 6-4,6-1, Rizza, who won 6-2, 6-2 and, finally, Stewart, who warded off big serves from Troy Demers to win 6-4, 6-4.
"The serve -- that really was the one shot that killed me," Stewart said. "I was trying to read where it was going and I couldn't. He disguised it pretty well and hit it big."
Boland put his squad on autopilot early and watched his team inconspicuously from outside the fences of Snyder, rather than coach his players courtside.
"Normally I'm on the court the entire match, but I was a little bit more laid back today," Boland said. "It is nice to get a chance to watch the guys compete and do it on their own a little bit."
The Cavalier players themselves never needed Boland's advice yesterday.
"I was pretty confident in the team today," Boland said. "We're a stronger team than Maryland, and the goal of the match today was that, if they stay disciplined, they'll get the job done."
As for Duke, Boland recognized Virginia's extraordinary dominance shown by sweeping Maryland indicates that his team is ready for Duke.
"I thought the guys came out focused and played well," Boland said. "We are certainly ready to play on Friday. I think the guys did a good job of not looking ahead."
Now, with Maryland easily behind them, Boland and the Cavaliers can safely prepare for their trip to Duke this weekend, with the ACC regular season title likely on the line.
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