For the first time in its history this past year, the Virginia men's tennis team had entered a season as a serious threat to win the national championship, a force to reckon with among tennis's elite. So there was understandably a sense of disappointment as the Cavaliers were knocked out of the NCAA tournament after reaching the quarterfinals.
In May, these Cavaliers culminated arguably their best season ever, finishing with a 27-3 record and winning their second ACC championship in a row after going undefeated in the conference. After cruising through the season ranked No. 2 in the country, Virginia faced high expectations in the NCAA tournament.
The Cavaliers took care of business during the preliminary rounds of the tournament at home in Charlottesville before routing Washington in the round of sixteen. UCLA was next, a team the Cavaliers had already topped earlier in the year. Match-up problems and too many errors proved to be Virginia's downfall this time, as the eventual champions dispatched Virginia out of the quarterfinals, 4-1.
"I don't want to take anything away from UCLA -- they played really hard and eventually won the championship," Virginia coach Brian Boland said. "But, we just made too many mistakes."
The defeat -- which might have come as a shock to Cavalier fans -- did not come out of the blue. One flaw plagued the Cavaliers the season: Throughout the year, rarely had all six starters played superbly. A few would shine here or there, enough so that the talented team seemed usually came out with a victory.
"I think we were a little undisciplined last year," No. 1 singles starter Doug Stewart said. "We relied on talent a little too much instead of hard work and discipline. If you rely on talent and run into a team like UCLA that's equally talented, you're liable to lose."
An extra year of experience should help the Cavaliers focus for next year's quest for the national title.
"The guys know what the goals and expectations are," Boland said. "They're capable of playing at the highest level."
With all six singles starters returning, including five ranked in the top 105, and two ranked doubles tandems coming back, the Cavaliers have a national title on their minds.
"There's nothing like having experience and having these veterans," Boland said. "For some of them it's their last chance playing collegiate tennis, so they will look forward to the opportunity."
Boland's heralded recruiting class of 2002, which included Stewart, now a two-time All-American, Darrin Cohen, Rylan Rizza and his doubles partner Nick Meythaler, were primarily responsible for Virginia elevation from a mediocre ACC team to a national championship contender.They already have two ACC championships and numerous team and individual accolades. They are coached by the ACC Coach of the Year Boland and Tony Bresky, the National Assistant Coach of the Year. But after two earlier-than-expected exits from the NCAAs, the pressure is on them to end their careers on top.
"I'm going to be really disappointed if I leave here without an NCAA championship," Stewart said. "I think we had a really good shot to win it and we got walled up against UCLA. I think we just really really want to win this. Just because we didn't win it this time, it doesn't mean the door is shut.
These seniors will make or break the team, he said.
"The senior leadership will really help us," Stewart said. "We've been to the tournament twice now. We went a round extra this year and we keep getting better. We'll probably have the same team too, unless Coach Boland has a trick up his sleeve."
Boland, who every year seems to bring in talented players from around the world ready to contribute almost immediately, might have some summer magic in his hat.
"I am certainly working really hard to improve the team," Boland said. "We won't rule anything out at this point."
With or without any prize additions, next year's Cavaliers should come back again as a serious threat to win the national championship. The 2005-2006 Cavaliers will likely be the best ever in Virginia history. Those are the lofty expectations the tennis boys in Charlottesville will have to live up to next year.
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