Sometimes lost in the mystique of the basketball team’s recent success is just how good, how consistent and how dominant the Virginia men’s tennis team has been in recent years.
After capping off their season last month with their third NCAA championship in four years, the Cavaliers can lay claim to being one of the most dominant teams in all sports. Head coach Brian Boland has developed Virginia into a national powerhouse, an unstoppable force reminiscent of Daenerys Targaryen’s fleet of ships sailing to Westeros, and it’s time for all to take notice.
This season, a triumphant one for the Cavaliers, was not without its hiccups. Virginia had dominated the ACC for the past decade, but this year seemed an aberration from the Cavaliers’ unquestioned hegemony, with Wake Forest and North Carolina challenging Virginia for conference supremacy.
When all was said and done, Virginia narrowly won the ACC regular season, but in an epic match in the ACC tournament, the nine-time defending champion Cavaliers fell to the Demon Deacons, denying the Cavaliers ACC glory for the first time in 10 years.
Despite the loss, Virginia forged ahead into the NCAA tournament as the number one team in the nation. With a short memory to get over their loss to Wake Forest, the Cavaliers moved through the early rounds of the tournament with the aplomb requisite for a champion. Boland refocused the team to see the opportunity ahead of them. Back-to-back championships would certainly look good in the trophy case.
As the tourney progressed, Virginia could not be slowed down; they would not be denied. With back-to-back sweeps in the quarterfinals and semifinals against No. 9 Florida (21-7) and No. 13 California (21-7), respectively, the Cavaliers appeared as dominant as ever against some very strong opposition.
The final, a rematch of last year’s final, against No. 11 Oklahoma (20-11) would pit Virginia against the Sooners in a match the Cavaliers needed to win to establish their dynasty. With the match being played in Tulsa, Okla., the Cavaliers would once again have to battle through adversity one last time before reaching the top of the mountain.
In the end, it was a combination of skill, poise and grit that brought Virginia into the ascendency. In capturing yet another NCAA title, the Cavaliers have etched an indelible mark into tennis lore as one of the greatest teams of all time. With five finals appearances in the past six years and three titles to go with them, Boland has created a dynasty, but the Cavaliers aren’t done yet.
Next year, faced with almost impossible expectations from the team’s recent championship success, Virginia will come into the season seeking to uphold the program’s recent dominance and, in the immortal words of DJ Khaled, seek “anotha one.”
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