Three years ago, Virginia sophomore tennis player Michael Shabaz took part in what he modestly referred to as, “one of those moments you don’t get to experience often.” Playing in the Wimbledon juniors’ draw, Shabaz was given the opportunity to warm up American star Andy Roddick before Roddick’s semifinal match at the historic All England Tennis Club.
“It was cool,” Shabaz said. “There were obviously cameras and people. I was supposed to warm him up for his final [too], but I had my own final. It was a little bit of fun.”
Although Shabaz’s serve has yet to eclipse the speed of his one-time playing partner’s catapult release, his meteoric rise up the college tennis ranks in the past few months is reminiscent of the way Roddick himself burst onto the professional scene. The sophomore entered this September outside the Intercollegiate Tennis Association top 100, but after knocking off a succession of top-20 opponents during the Cavaliers’ fall campaign, Shabaz has leapt to No. 11 in the ITA singles’ poll heading into the regular season.
“I’m really pleased with [Shabaz]’s performance over the past year and a half,” Virginia coach Brian Boland said. “His skill level in this game is extraordinary; he has a great foundation of knowledge of how to play the game.”
While Shabaz showed promise as a freshman, playing No. 5 singles and pairing with then-junior Dominic Inglot in the second doubles slot as the Cavaliers marched through the regular season undefeated, it was not until the ITA All-American Championships this October that he experienced a real breakthrough. Ranked No. 104 at the time, Shabaz knocked off five higher-ranked opponents, including an upset of the nation’s then-No.2 player, Baylor junior Denes Lukacs, en route to the tournament quarterfinals. His inspired run came to an end there, as the sophomore suffered a tough three-set loss to East Tennessee State senior Enrique Olivares, currently ranked No. 9 in the ITA poll. Nevertheless, his growth through the week in Tulsa was noticeable.
“I think I finally started putting matches together,” Shabaz said. “I started doing that consistently, and my confidence got built [up] just a little bit. I kind of feel like, once you get going a little bit and you feel a little confident, you can beat anybody.”
At the same time that Shabaz has grown more confident on the court, he has grown more comfortable off the court as well. After taking a year off from school to compete on the junior circuit before enrolling at Virginia, he found trying to manage both school and practice day in and day out to be slightly overwhelming at first.
“You have so many things going on,” Shabaz said. “Being here one year, I think that kind of helps second year. It makes things a little easier.”
Instead of spending time at home during the summer, Shabaz chose to stay in Charlottesville, taking a few extra classes while continuing to train on Grounds. He worked on improving his overall stamina by going on long runs. As the fall season approached, he focused on ball-feeding drills to improve his arm and core strength, he said. Since the beginning of the regular season, the effect of such a strict offseason regimen on his game has become apparent.
“The real thing that kind of sets him apart from last year has been his fitness — his ability to cover the court and get to each shot in exactly the right position,” said senior Dominic Inglot, Shabaz’s doubles partner.
After the graduation of two-time NCAA singles champion Somdev Devvarman, one of the best players in the history of college tennis, the Cavaliers will need players like Shabaz to continue to step up and fill the void left by Devvarman’s departure, especially if the squad hopes to earn its third-straight team bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia entered last season’s championship bracket ranked first in the country, but the team suffered a disappointing loss to eventual champion Georgia in the national semifinals in Tulsa, marking the second consecutive year the Cavaliers narrowly missed a shot at a team crown. This year, the team enters the season ranked fifth in the ITA preseason polls, despite losing three of its top six players from last year.
“We really want to peak for the ACCs and the NCAA Tournament,” Boland said. “I think we’ve done a good job of doing each year. We’re young, talented, and I believe we have the right chemistry and work ethic to do some great things.”
Though it could be easy to be caught up in the individual aspect of the game rather than the team’s results, Shabaz understands how instrumental his performance is in dictating the Cavaliers’ success this spring.
“The things I can take care of are my singles match and my doubles match,” Shabaz said. “The rest is kind of out of my hands. I just have to try to do the best I can to take care of my point, and hopefully it gives some momentum to the other guys. Hopefully, we can keep rolling.”
Read More
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | 7 hours agoJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | 12 hours agoThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
Men’s soccer, totally discombobulated, capitulates early to No. 5 Pittsburgh
By Michael Liebermann | 13 hours agoPittsburgh set a program record for the quickest cluster of three goals.
