The No. 11 Virginia tennis team will travel to Williamsburg today to take on William & Mary in their final non-conference match of the season. The Cavaliers are 13-5 overall and are a perfect 4-0 in the ACC this season. The Tribe is 9-11 overall and coming off a loss to Texas A&M.
Virginia is coming off six straight wins, but the team's lineup won't remain unchanged, according to Virginia coach Brian Boland.
"We'll keep mixing it up a little bit," Boland said. "There are certain areas we need to improve in."
The assorted lineups used so far this season have resulted in three Virginia doubles teams in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top-60 and four singles players in the ITA Top-125.
"I think each guy's getting a little better each day; our confidence is rising as a team, and we're starting to play better," Boland said.
Coming off a 6-1 win over No. 29 N.C. State, Virginia's focus now turns to William & Mary. Today's match with the No. 69 Tribe marks the beginning of a four-match, week-long road trip for the tennis team, but Virginia is prepared for the grueling schedule.
"It's a tough stretch, but we knew that when we scheduled everything," Boland said. "I think we're fine. Guys still have a lot of energy and good things are coming our way."
The Cavaliers will face William & Mary today and will follow that up with matches against Georgia Tech and No. 10 Clemson later in the week. Virginia, the defending ACC champions, will play seven straight conference opponents, with only two home matches remaining, after today's match with the Tribe.
"It'll be a long week coming ahead, we had spring break off, we're fresh, so it shouldn't be a problem," senior Nick Meythaler said.
Virginia defeated William & Mary last year and expects to do the same this time around.
William & Mary "fight's] hard, they have good doubles, but I think if we get up like we should each match, then we'll come out on top," Meythaler said.
The Cavaliers swept the doubles events from N.C. State Sunday but look to face stiff competition today. William & Mary has the No. 42 doubles team in the nation in sophomore Alexandru Cojanu and freshman Billy Mulligan.
The match with William & Mary will be played outside, and this should benefit Virginia.
"Outside tennis is really good for our team," senior Rylan Rizza said. "I think we're a better outdoor team than an indoor team."
Its recent matches with N.C. State and Wake Forest marked the first outdoor competitions of the season for Virginia.
"[William and Mary is] good," Rizza said. "They're comparable to N.C. State, but we shouldn't have any problems. Our team's playing well, and I think we'll be just fine."
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