As Virginia's seventh-ranked men's tennis team captured two wins in two days, defeating No. 8 Baylor and No. 52 Michigan, one player remained on the bench the whole time.
Nick Meros, the only freshman on the team, sat by and watched as the Cavaliers hunted down the Bears and Wolverines this past weekend, winning both matches 6-1.
"It's just hard because we didn't lose anybody from last year," sophomore ACC Player of the Week Somdev Devvarman said.
Despite this, Meros continues to strive to become a better tennis player.
Born and raised in Tallahassee, Fla., Meros was a varsity member of the Maclay School tennis team from sixth grade to his senior year. He managed to make Tallahassee history when he became the only player to win the All-City Championship four years in a row.
Meros' high school tennis resume includes being selected for the All-Big Bend team five times and earning the award All-Big Bend Player of the Year four times. He also represented Florida at the United States Tennis Association Intersectionals, playing as the No. 1 seed and bringing home a third-place finish for Florida.
Although Meros' credentials are impressive, coming to Virginia as the only new addition to the team has been challenging.
"It's kind of hard coming in as the only first year on the team," Meros said. "They're all very close. I haven't been with them and, with all that experience, to try and come into that and to get integrated, it's hard, but they've all been great about it."
Meros is certainly not the only one who's noticed how difficult it is to join a team filled with great players.
"[Nick] knew coming in that he was going to be surrounded by a tremendous group of experienced and talented players," Virginia coach Brian Boland said. "I think his goal all along with that was to just take advantage of that and see how good of a tennis player he could become."
Even though Meros' time on the team has not been a walk in the park, several Cavaliers have made it easier for him.
"They're all big supporters," Meros said. "All the coaches are great. The guy who's helped me out the most is probably [Devvarman]. He's been great. He's only a year older than me, and he's very experienced from last year. He's been a great friend and a great mentor."
Devvarman only had positive things to say about Meros as well.
"He's been playing really hard, trying really hard in practice," Devvarman said. "He's a great first year, and we all like him a lot."
Meros' decision to attend the University of Virginia with the knowledge that he would be a freshman on a team with all returning players was probably more clear-cut than some might think.
"I was looking at some schools for tennis, some schools for academics; I was looking at some of the Ivies," Meros said. "I didn't find any school that had a better combination [of the two] than Virginia did. It has one of the best academics in the country by far and the best tennis team in the country. And the combination of the players, the team, the atmosphere, the tradition -- there was no choice."
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