Cavs draw Knights in NCAAs

By Whitey Reid

Published: April 29, 2008

Many college tennis observers believe this is the year the Virginia men’s team will capture its first-ever NCAA championship.
Count Patrick McEnroe among them.
On Tuesday afternoon, the ESPN commentator elicited loud cheers from a throng of Virginia tennis fans that had gathered to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
When asked during the broadcast if UVa was the team to beat in this year’s tournament, McEnroe said, “You’ve got to like the Cavs.”
Undefeated Virginia was tabbed as the No. 1 seed and will host first- and second-round action at the Snyder Tennis Center next week. The Cavaliers will meet Fairleigh Dickinson (12-8) in a first-round match on Saturday, May 10, while VCU will play Penn State in the other first-round tilt in Charlottesville.
“We’re honored to be the No. 1 seed,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland. “The guys have worked hard all year and I think they deserve it.
“Now we just need to go out and enjoy the journey and take one match at a time.”
Last weekend in Florida, Virginia (28-0) won the ACC Tournament in dominating fashion.
Senior Somdev Devvarman, the top-ranked player in the country, says the team is on a mission.
“Our practices have been really good,” Devvarman said. “We’re just getting stronger and stronger. We’re going to be really tough out there.”
The Cavaliers become the first ACC team to receive the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The previous high seed in conference history came in 2005 when Virginia was the No. 2 seed.
The selection marks the fifth consecutive year that the Cavaliers have received a national seed and will host a regional. Virginia is the only school to be a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past five years.
In each of the past four years, UVa won first- and second-round matches at home to advance as one of 16 regional winners to the NCAA Championships. This year, the University of Tulsa will host the NCAA Championships.
Boland doesn’t know much about FDU, his team’s first-round opponent. However, he’s pretty familiar with VCU and Penn State.
On Feb. 1 in Charlottesville, Virginia defeated VCU, 7-0. Two weeks later, at the Indoor National Championships in Seattle, UVa beat Penn State, 4-0.
“They’re both great programs,” Boland said. “Todd [Doebler] has done a great job of bringing Penn State along and VCU has been a powerhouse for many years. We have so much respect for them.”
Last season, Virginia came up just short in the NCAA Tournament, losing in the finals to Georgia.
“We learned so much from last year’s loss and the new guys we added this year — Michael Shabaz and Sanam Singh — have pushed the team to another level,” said UVa senior Treat Huey. “They’re unbelievable freshmen players. With them, our depth is unbelievable.
“We feel ready and excited.”
Added Boland: “The majority of our team from last year is back and we’re hungry. They push each other every day and make each other better. It’s a special group of guys.”
It’s a group that has received a great amount of support from the Charlottesville community. Virginia led the country in attendance this season and had a nice turnout for Tuesday’s festivities.
Shortly after McEnroe touted UVa as the team to beat in the tournament, he talked about the Cavs’ powerful one-two punch of Devvarman and Huey.
“That was great,” said Huey, smiling. “I’ve never met him, but he’s a pretty good guy to get some recognition from.”