At least once a season, Virginia men's tennis coach Brian Boland plans a recruiting trip somewhere in the United States to attract the best players in the country to Charlottesville. Sometimes, though, his quest for top talent carries him overseas.
The lure of the fastest-rising collegiate tennis program in the United States allows Boland to bring players such as Somdev Devvarman, a former No. 1 from India, and Marko Miklo, nicknamed by his teammates "the Slovakian back-stopper," to Virginia.
Before his first collegiate game, the freshmen Devvarman finally appreciated the quality of competition at Virginia.
"When you hear about the rankings, you think --- No. 10, that's not a big deal," Devvarman said. "But when you see how many teams there are out there, you realize how difficult the competition is."
Boland said players like Devvarman and Miklo bring in energy and range of experiences that gives his lineup its chemistry on and off the court.
"I think it's great to have some diversity on the team," the coach said. "I think the team has learned a lot from Marko and Somdev. They've brought a great enthusiasm. We could not be more pleased."
The current junior class of Cavaliers makes up Boland's first batch of recruits. Californians No. 14 Doug Stewart, No. 59 Rylan Rizza and No. 50 Darrin Cohen joined Kentuckian Nick Meythaler and Ohioan Stephen Rozek to lead Virginia to its first-ever ACC championship last year and a trip to the NCAA regionals. Boland said he remembers recruiting each and every one of them personally.
"Every recruit brings its own story," Boland said. "Each and every person on my team has been a joy to recruit. I certainly spend a lot of time getting to know their family and introducing them to the University of Virginia."
The Cavalier lineup, however, does not completely consist of out-of-staters. Freshmen Treat Huey, who ended his under-18 tennis career as the No. 1 player in the country, hails from Alexandria, in the heart of Northern Virginia. Players like Huey show that the Commonwealth's cupboard is far from bare, and that the Cavaliers will always attract students from Virginia.
"I think we should try and take care of our backyard first," Boland said. "But I think we should compete with the highest level of college tennis. If we believe that a player is able to contribute to our program and allow us to further advance the goals for us, we won't hesitate to bring them to the University.
The new indoor facilities being constructed at Boar's Head Sports Complex will likely serve as a recruiting tool, too.
"It allows us to do so much more recruiting," said Joe Hall, associate director of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. "The whole team can get together -- men's and women's."
Boland agrees as well that the new courts at Boar's Head will attract the top players from around the nation.
"There's no doubt that this facility will evolve recruits to come into the University knowing they'll be playing in the best indoor tennis facility in the country," Boland said.
As Virginia's regular season winds down, Boland reflected on his first four years at the helm of the Cavalier men's program.
"I'm certainly proud of what we've accomplished, but there's still a long way to go," Boland said.
With the foundations in place for recruiting top talent, as well as the facilities, knowledge and support available to develop players, Boland has his Cavalier program ready to compete at the highest levels of collegiate tennis each and every year.
"The momentum that we have will carry over for many years to come Boland said," Boland said.
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