What's the biggest difference between playing tennis inside and playing it outside?
According to Tony Bresky, the assistant coach for the No. 8 Virginia men's tennis team (16-5, 6-0 ACC), it's all about fitness.
"The biggest thing to our advantage is that outdoor tennis probably relies more on fitness," Bresky said. "The ball moves a little slower, the points last a little longer, and fortunately one of the things we've focused on from day one in the fall is our fitness. I feel like we're one of the fitter teams out there."
Since their outdoor season began March 22 with a 4-3 win at Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers have played like a team fit for a championship run.
After concluding its indoor season with a 10-5 record, Virginia has reeled off six straight victories outside, five of them coming against conference opponents. Overall, the Cavaliers have won nine matches in a row.
"Being outdoors gives us a little more confidence because we know we're better outdoor players," sophomore Trent Huey said. "The ball stays a lot lower to the ground and moves a lot faster. Outdoors the courts are slower and the ball bounces up a lot higher, so we can run down a lot more balls and get to a lot of balls that you usually couldn't get to indoors."
In addition to their superior physical ability, another reason why the Cavaliers have been so successful outside is their maturity and mental toughness.
"Matches tend to get long outdoors," Bresky said. "The heat can affect you if it's really hot. You might cramp up at some point in play. Obviously fitness is a big thing, but it's also about how you deal with things that you can't control. It can be really windy and the tennis can get ugly, or it can be sunny and it's hard to serve."
Bresky said that having six seniors and a junior helps when the conditions are less than favorable.
"But I think we're good with those kinds of things -- we have a lot of veteran guys, guys that are good with dealing with adversity," he said.
Of course, a considerably easier outdoor schedule has also had a lot to do with the Cavaliers' recent run.
During the indoor season, the Cavaliers lost to some of the top teams in the country, including Pepperdine, currently No. 2 in the national rankings, and Illinois, currently No. 7 -- both on the road. Out of 15 matches played inside, 14 of them were against nationally ranked opponents.
Since the outdoor season began, however, Virginia has only faced one team ranked in the top 25
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