Spring Break may have been three weeks ago but apparently the Cavaliers didn't get the memo. Virginia will head south to Florida this weekend for another set of grueling ACC matches in what will be Virginia's final road trip of the year before postseason play begins.
The No. 2 Cavaliers (19-3, 7-0 ACC) are riding a five-game winning streak and have won their first seven matches for the third year in a rowyear. This weekend Virginia will face No. 35 Miami (9-9, 4-3 ACC) and No. 27 Florida State (11-7, 3-4 ACC), which both dropped matches to North Carolina and Duke last weekend.
With home games against No. 6 North Carolina and No. 21 Duke next weekend, many teams would get caught looking ahead. But in the ACC, the teams Virginia faces day in and day out are all elite, and the Cavaliers have demonstrated their ability to take one match at a time. The tough, non-conference schedule is also starting to pay dividends for the Cavaliers. After facing top-ranked teams such as Georgia, Illinois and Pepperdine, the ACC schedule appears less daunting.
"I feel the whole year we've had a lot of competitive matches and played some tough teams," junior Treat Huey said. "Even if we have a little of an off day we still play really well."
Huey and junior Somdev Devvarman continue to lead the way for Virginia. Devvarman was named ACC Player of the Week Monday, marking the third time he has won the award this year. Huey and Devvarman have combined to win the award in five of the 11 weeks so far this season and are clearly among the best in the conference.
No. 2 Devvarman and Huey have won their past three matches and are starting to play their best tennis of the season so far with the ACC Tournament fast approaching.
"We're getting used to the outdoors matches and the home crowds have been great." Devvarman said. "We're just trying to get out there and set a tone for the rest of the guys. So that's what we're working on."
Miami should present a tough match for Huey, Devvarman and the rest of the Cavaliers this weekend. The Hurricanes are stronger at the top than most ACC teams and lost to Duke in Durham only 4-3. Miami is led by seniors Luigi D'Agord and Josh Cohen who are the No. 8 doubles pair in the nation. Cohen has won 78 doubles matches and is just three wins short of the all-time Miami record for doubles wins set 30 years ago. No. 20 D'Agord should present a challenge for Devvarman, and Cohen, though unranked, is coming off an upset win against No. 48 Kiril Dimitrov of Duke.
Although Florida State is not as strong at the top as Miami, it is a much deeper team, nearly upsetting North Carolina last weekend. To beat the Seminoles, Virginia will need strong singles play, especially from redshirt freshman Dominic Inglot who struggled before a hard fought win against Scott Blackmon of Georgia Tech last weekend.
"[Dominic] needs to compete regardless of how he feels when things aren't going his way," Virginia coach Brian Boland said. "This is something that he's done a better job of, but we need to continue to work on it."
If Virginia continues to play like it has in its past several matches, the Cavaliers should put themselves in a position to dispatch Florida State and Miami and continue their winning streak.
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