women's tennis team will play at the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center today for its first outdoor match against conference rival Virginia Tech.
After two hard-fought losses on the road last weekend to No. 10 North Carolina (12-5, 2-1 ACC) and No. 23 Duke (4-2, 1-0 ACC), Virginia (6-5, 0-2 ACC) hopes to make a quick turnaround at home. The No. 62 Cavaliers will face the No. 67 Hokies (8-5, 4-3 ACC) in what is expected to be a close match both in talent and agility.
When one looks at the rankings, the two teams are extremely close. On top of that, however, individual players are at roughly the same level of ability across the board ensuring extremely close scores in every match.
"We know it would make Tech's season to beat us," sophomore Maggie Yahner said. "It's all the more reason to stick it to them, and I don't think any of us would be able to sleep at night if we lost to them. We're favored to win but we're not letting it go to our heads. They know we're a good team, and we're in no way underestimating them."
In addition to the strong rivalry that exists, the players are also thinking about the season as a whole. A win against a conference team would not only boost the team's position in the rankings, but would also garner some much-needed confidence for a team coming off two losses.
Additionally, this match against the Hokies is part of the Commonwealth Challenge. Currently, the Cavaliers lead the Hokies 10.5 to 5.5, with a win in this match bagging the tournament title for the third time in three seasons.
Focus in the last week has been on intense drills and doubles practice. The coaches especially have concentrated on ensuring play in practice is at the same level of power as play will be in the actual match.
The ability of the team to think as a team has been a major point for each individual player.
"I think that's one of the things about tennis," senior Caroline Hammond said. "We all come out of junior leagues thinking it's all individual. Everyone plays their own match and realizes that they're accountable for their own court. But on top of that, we are a team. People think of it as an individual sport, but we all have to win our own matches for the team. If everyone takes care of their own court, then we're going to come out on top."
After a tough start to the season, play in doubles matches is set to improve greatly. Finding efficient pairs was difficult for the team, but now that pairs have been well established, practice has been dedicated to smaller details.
"We're focusing on the whole," Virginia assistant coach Troy Porco said. "We're trying to come out because we can do this. We're focusing not so much on the results as we are on the effort. Come out, play hard and put forth a good effort, and the results will take care of themselves."
The Virginia women's tennis team will play at 4 p.m.
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