For the first time in 17 years, the No. 25 Virginia women's tennis team will appear in the ITA Women's National Team Indoor Championship.
The event, which is scheduled to begin this afternoon and conclude Monday, brings the nation's best talent to the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville. Sixteen of the nation's top 25 squads will compete for a spot in the championship's final match, scheduled to begin late Monday morning.
Virginia last appeared in the indoor championship during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, and this weekend marks the first time the Cavaliers will host the event.
"It's exciting for every player and our program [and] the city of Charlottesville," coach Mark Guilbeau said. "To have some of the best teams come to play at our home courts is an advantage for sure. The hard work we've been putting in is to make sure we're not just a host, that we're ready to compete with the teams that have earned a trip here."
The Cavaliers enter the tournament boasting a perfect 6-0 record - the squad's best start in the history of the program - and will face No. 3 Baylor in the opening round of competition this afternoon.
Although the Bears (3-0) have emerged victorious in each of their first three matches this season, wins have not come easily. Baylor eked out 4-3 victories in each of its last two matchups against No. 48 Rice and No. 55 Alabama.
The Bears fell to an early deficit against Rice, losing their first doubles match of the competition. Junior Sona Novakova carried her team through its early struggles, however, downing freshman Dominique Harmath 6-0, 6-7, 6-4 at the No. 2 singles position. Novakova also paired up with junior teammate Diana Nakic to tally an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles for the Bears.
Novakova and Nakic likely will face Virginia's No. 2 doubles tandem, junior Lindsey Hardenbergh and sophomore Erin Vierra. Hardenbergh and Vierra recorded 8-0 victories in their last two matches and hope to continue that dominance against the Bears.
"Baylor is in the running for an NCAA title this year, so they're a very obviously a very strong and very talented team," Hardenbergh said. "We have to believe in ourselves. We've got to bring it and just let the chips fall where they may."
Hardenbergh added this year's Virginia lineup should match up well against Baylor's formidable singles and doubles stars.
"Our depth has drastically improved from the past seasons and we're more competitive at each spot now," Hardenbergh said.
If the Cavaliers can pull off the upset against Baylor, they will play the winner of the match between No. 6 Duke and No. 11 Tennessee. Virginia fell to Duke 2-5 during last year's match, and lost by the same margin against the Lady Volunteers in 2009.
Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Guilbeau and the Cavaliers remain optimistic that they can put on a good show in front of their home crowd and represent the University proudly on such a big stage.
"[The players'] confidence should be high, based on not just their results and the record that we have, but much more on how they've practiced and every individual thing that they've been doing to be their best," Guilbeau said.
-Dean Overdyk contributed to this article.
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