Spring is finally here and students sitting out on the quad aren't the only ones enjoying the warm weather. The men's tennis team is more than happy to have moved to the outdoor Snyder Tennis Center courts.
Since starting 0-2 on the outdoors courts against Texas and Baylor, the Cavaliers (19-3 7-0 ACC) have rolled off five straight wins in the ACC against opponents ranked no lower than No. 46 and as high as No. 12.
"We've been gaining confidence every match we've played," freshman Houston Barrick said. "We started out a little rough, especially down in Texas. We had a couple of tough matches with Baylor and Texas, but we've gained confidence from then on and we're playing really well right now."
Men's college tennis is different from most other sports in that teams change playing surfaces midseason. The indoor courts on which teams start the season are very hard courts and lend themselves to a power game. On outdoor courts, the ball bounces more and players must use more of a finesse game to try to beat their opponents.
"The courts are much slower," redshirt freshman Dominic Inglot said. "Doubles -- it's not too bad, because the thing is when you cover the court, it's a little easier. But in singles it's harder to serve and volley for myself because [my opponents] get a read on the serve much better."
Barrick also agreed that one of the aspects of the game most affected by the surface is the serve.
"On a day like today it's really windy," Barrick said. "But I think it favors us because I like my kick serve a lot and I can be more aggressive with Dom serving, so it definitely helps us."
Barrick and Inglot have thrived as a doubles team since Virginia moved outdoors, winning all five of their matches during the current winning streak. Playing singles, No. 84 Inglot has struggled a little more, dropping two out of his five matches. The rest of the team has been very strong in singles. No. 2 junior Somdev Devvarman has won all five of his matches, and No. 22 junior Treat Huey and Barrick have only dropped a match apiece.
"It's a slower serve and it's difficult for me to hit the volleys." Inglot said. "So it's not in my favor. But I know Somdev and Treat like it more outdoors so maybe for me it's not as good, but it's better for them so either way it equals out in the end."
The Snyder courts are also different from the Boar's Head Sports Club indoor courts Virginia played on earlier this season in that the seating at the Boar's Head is much more conducive to a stadium atmosphere. The roof on the indoor courts also reflects sound, giving the Cavaliers that much more of a home-court advantage.
"I think we're going to get there [with the home-court advantage]." Barrick said. "Especially next weekend with Duke and North Carolina, hopefully we'll have a lot of people out."
The ACC and NCAA championships are played outdoors, meaning teams have to adjust well to the outdoor courts to have a good chance at postseason success. The Cavaliers feel confident that they benefit from playing outdoors more than most teams and think they will be ready come NCAA Tournament time.
"This team can play as good outdoors, if not better than indoors." Inglot said "I know that the other teams maybe struggle more, therefore it gives us more confidence. I think Georgia is going to be weaker [outdoors] so I think we have a real good chance [in the NCAA Tournament]"
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