After losing two tough ACC matches last weekend, the Virginia women's tennis team hopes to bounce back at the ACC Tournament this week. In almost any ACC sport, it is tough to stay at the top. In women's tennis, however, it is even tougher as more than half the ACC teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally.
The Cavaliers (10-10, 4-7 ACC) have had a difficult time since ACC play began, winning only four ACC matches. This past weekend the team lost to No. 6 Clemson and No. 5 Georgia Tech, but has not lost heart.
"Right now, we have a great momentum going," said Caroline Hammond, the only senior on the team. "We're ready emotionally, and I think we can do it."
The No. 47 Cavaliers, the No. 8 seed in the tournament, will travel to Cary, N.C. to face No. 37 N.C. State (13-9, 4-7 ACC), the No. 9 seed, in the first round of the tournament Thursday. The matchup should prove competitive, as both teams have the same ACC record and are very close in national standings. Though Virginia currently has no ranked players, N.C. State has one nationally ranked singles player, freshman Daria Petrovic, and the doubles pair of Petrovic and sophomore Alejandra Guerra is ranked No. 24.
Despite its rankings, when N.C. State came to Charlottesville this season, the Cavaliers defeated the Wolfpack 4-3 in a long, highly competitive match. The Cavaliers recognize the possibility of another long match and are prepared for this sort of contest.
"We have a good idea of the matchups, but really the thing that I think N.C. State has done the best this year is just being willing to battle long hard matches," Virginia coach Mark Guilbeau said. "That is what we are talking to our kids about ... We have to be ready to do it for four hours or five hours."
The match may prove even more difficult than the first match against N.C. State, as both teams have improved their rankings and have developed after playing the tough competition in the ACC. Additionally, N.C. State just came off an upset of No. 22 Duke this past weekend.
To prepare for the match, Virginia has focused on improving individual players' skills.
"I think we are trying to prepare our kids very specifically," Guilbeau said. "The kids are willing to listen and [have] input in it. That can only be an advantage. We know what we need to do and where our weaknesses are."
If the team wins Thursday, it will face the No. 1-seed Clemson Friday morning. Clemson (19-3, 10-1 ACC) has only lost one close match in the ACC and defeated the Cavaliers this weekend 5-2. The team is still hopeful, though, that with a strong performance in the ACC Tournament, it will have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
"Hopefully we're going to win our match Thursday, because if we don't it's going to be my last match." Hammond said. "We beat them last time, but they're definitely a great team, and they put up a great fight every time no matter what team it is."
The team is hopeful for a strong postseason appearance, which will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday with the match against N.C. State.
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