Cavs hope to sew up perfect season

By Whitey Reid

Published: April 10, 2008

In 1906, the Virginia men’s tennis team went 1-0. A year later, the squad finished 1-0 again. Fast forward to 1920 and UVa went 3-0.
These are the only undefeated teams in the history of the program.
That is, until now.
This weekend, Virginia’s 2008 outfit will have a chance to leave an indelible mark in the record books when it closes out its regular season with home matches against N.C. State and Wake Forest. The Wahoos have a chance to finish with a perfect 25-0 record.
“We’ve put a lot of hard work into this program, so to be considered the best ever would definitely be a special thing,” said Virginia senior Somdev Devvarman. “Hopefully we can keep having this type of program, and I’m sure the way our coaches work, we always will.”
With apologies to those juggernaut teams from the beginning of last century, this year’s UVa squad has already established itself as the school’s most dominant ever.
Devvarman and Huey have been the rocks. Virginia’s No. 1 and No. 2 singles players have combined for a 39-4 record in their matches this season.
As a doubles team, they’ve posted a 17-3 mark.
No. 1 Virginia (23-0, 9-0 ACC) cruised to easy wins over North Carolina and Duke last weekend, winning by identical 5-2 scores.
While Devvarman and Huey were their dominant selves in singles, they did drop their doubles match against the Blue Devils. They’ll be looking to bounce back this afternoon against a struggling N.C. State squad (11-11, 4-5) that has lost three in a row.
“This will be our last regular season match in front of our friends and fans, so we’ll be really fired up,” Devvarman said. “We’ll come with a lot of energy and try and pump everyone up.”
With a win over the Wolfpack, Virginia would clinch the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament that starts next week in Florida.
When UVa takes on Wake Forest (15-8, 6-3) on Sunday, the school will pay homage to Devvarman and Huey, along with fellow seniors Ted Angelinos and Andrew Downing.
“All my friends who’ve supported me and the program for the last four years will be there,” said Devvarman when asked about Senior Day, “so I think it will be emotional.”
Virginia, which leads the nation in attendance (545 per game), is expecting its usual homecourt advantage at the Snyder Tennis Center.
“We have the best fans in college tennis,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland, “and we need them to come out and support us in what should be some great matches this weekend.
“I know it could be a little difficult on a Friday afternoon, but for those who can sneak away from work - please come out and watch us play.”
Devvarman says it’s a good time to jump on the bandwagon.
“In our mind, the season’s just getting started,” he said. “The NCAA [Tournament] is what we prepare for all year. I think we’re going to be ready for that.”