The Virginia women's tennis team will look to get back on a winning track this weekend when it hosts two tough ACC opponents in Miami and Florida State at the Snyder Tennis Center Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Cavaliers (6-7, 2-1 ACC) come into the weekend after recent struggles including two dropped matches in a row and four losses in its last five contests. Included in those matches are two lopsided 6-1 defeats at the hands of Baylor and TCU this past weekend, in which only one Virginia player, sophomore Jennifer Stevens, was able to manage a singles victory. Stevens provided the only highlight in an otherwise bleak weekend for the Cavaliers by upsetting No. 19-ranked Baylor freshman Taylor Ormond.
"I thought I played really well," Stevens said. "I was serving really, really well, and I just surprised myself."
Things will not get any easier for the Cavaliers this weekend -- they are expected to be heavy underdogs in both matches, a role Virginia is beginning to grow tired of -- as both the Hurricanes and Seminoles are ranked in the top 20 nationally.
"I talk to the team a lot about the positive role sometimes that being an underdog can be," coach Mark Guilbeau said, "but it takes the right kind of kids to make that really work, and even with the right kind of kids, sometimes if you're too big of an underdog, that does get old. We've got to get better. We have to get stronger and deeper, and it's going to make it that much sweeter when we do."
The Hurricanes (8-4, 1-2 ACC) will come into Charlottesville well-rested after enjoying a two-week break. Although Miami has four losses, three of those have been to top 10-ranked teams, including then-No. 2 Georgia Tech, then-No. 10 Baylor and a closely contested 4-3 loss against then-No. 1 Stanford. The Hurricanes' only other defeat came at the hands of the Seminoles, whom Virginia will also play this weekend. Miami has not been ranked any lower than No. 12 this season.
The Seminoles (11-2, 1-1 ACC) will also bring an impressive résumé into Charlottesville. They have suffered only two losses all season, one of which was at the hands of then-No. 4 Florida. Florida State also features a relentless style of play, evidenced by the fact that seven of their 11 wins have been 7-0 sweeps, so the Cavaliers definitely have their work cut out for them this weekend.
"Before you worry too much about winning or losing, you really want to be prepared and play as best you can, but they are both very, very strong teams," Guilbeau said. "That's why we're here, to fight our way through and to use the strong teams as an example, to see what they do that makes them strong and better and learn from it."
Virginia is eager to return home after two consecutive weekends on the road. The matches will be the first ones of the season to be played outdoors at the Snyder Tennis Center.
"I think it will be a positive transition for us," junior Maggie Yahner said. "We've played well since going outside and obviously it's a huge advantage to be here at home, so were just really excited to be back out at Snyder."
The weekend's matches will mark the start of eight straight ACC matches to close out the season. The Cavaliers acknowledge the tough road ahead of them.
"We know it's going to be long and tough but we're definitely down for the journey," Yahner said. "We just want to attack it with as much fight as we can to make the most of the rest of the season and hopefully prove some people wrong"
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