Last April, the Cavaliers saw the traditional script of Virginia versus No. 5 Duke. For the first two years of coach Brian Boland's tenure, Virginia won more matches than the previous year before ultimately running into a wall against the Blue Devils in April. For 25 consecutive years, the Cavaliers had lost to Duke. They were not supposed to win.
Last April, however, the Cavaliers refused to follow the script of losing to the Blue Devils. After capturing the hearts of Virginia tennis fans with win after win over conference rivals, the Cavaliers edged past Duke in a 4-3 classic that wasn't decided until Rylan Rizza rallied from down a break in the third set to clinch the match. The Blue Devils upset carried the Cavaliers all the way to the ACC championship, where they again routed Duke 4-0 in the finals to win Virginia's first-ever conference title.
Fast-forwarding to this April, when Virginia (18-2, 6-0 ACC) must again dance with No. 5 Duke (15-2, 5-0 ACC), the Cavaliers find themselves in an entirely different situation. Ranked No. 3, the Cavaliers became the first team in the ACC to reach the finals of the ITA Indoors Tournament in 25 years. Duke, as usual, has coasted, suffering its only two losses to No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Illinois in February.
The Cavaliers are poised to repeat and go beyond their historical performance of a year ago. But first, of course, they must exorcise the Blue Devils.
"Duke will be an incredibly tough challenge for our team," Boland said. "They're ranked five, we're ranked three, so obviously both teams can play at the highest level."
Sunday, the Cavaliers will face a test from No. 40 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, an opponent Boland has never defeated. Though the Cavaliers travel to Durham and North Carolina this weekend, they are no strangers to hostile tennis environments. During the team's two-week road trip to the Lone Star State in March, where it defeated No. 49 Texas Christian, No. 38 Texas and No. 14 Texas A&M, and lost to No. 1 Baylor, Virginia witnessed the raucous Texas tennis crowds.
"The teams in Texas all play to big crowds that are all very loud," freshman Treat Huey said. "That's definitely like Duke."
Returning players from last year's winning lineup and likely starters against Duke are No. 11 Doug Stewart, Marko Miklo, No. 50 Darrin Cohen and No. 59 Rizza, who clinched the thriller last year. Two others, Huey and No. 17 Somdev Devvarman, the highest-ranked freshman in the country, make Virginia's squad potent at all levels of the lineup. With depth in the form of juniors Nick Meythaler, Steven Rozek and freshman Jarrett Chirico, the Cavaliers deftly can overcome unforeseen adversity.
Boland attributed his team's confidence to its strong skills and cohesiveness as a unit.
"One of the best things about this group is how much chemistry they have amongst one other," Boland said. "While tennis is such an individual sport, in college we play as a team, and these guys are a great example of what 'team' is all about."
Last spring, it took the whole team's effort to rebel against the tradition of losing to the Blue Devils. Though the Cavaliers come into this year's match-up having dispelled a tradition of losing to Duke, they still will need to display a full effort if they want to keep their hopes of a great season alive.
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