MEN’S TENNIS: Virginia ends on perfect note

By Whitey Reid

Published: April 13, 2008

When you crush an opponent, you’re not supposed to be the one weeping.
However, Somdev Devvarman admitted he may have shed a few tears on Sunday afternoon.
Devvarman, along with teammates Treat Huey and Ted Angelinos, were playing the final regular-season matches of their careers.
All three won in straight sets in leading No. 1-ranked Virginia to an impressive 7-0 win over Wake Forest in front of a record 859 fans at the Snyder Tennis Center.
“It was definitely an emotional day because this thing has just meant so much to me,” said Devvarman, who has helped turn UVa into one of the top programs in the country. “It’s just been such a good journey.
“It’s sad that it’s coming to an end, but we still have two big tournaments ahead of us.”
On Friday, in suburban Orlando, Virginia (25-0,
11-0) begins play in the ACC Tournament where it will be the heavy favorite. UVa then hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament starting May 9.
After a lethargic performance in Friday’s win over N.C. State, Virginia coach Brian Boland seemed very pleased with his team’s effort on Sunday.
“I think having 36 hours to get healthy was the big difference for us today, and I think it showed,” said Boland, whose team didn’t drop a single set. “We played really well right from the start of doubles. The guys had a lot of energy and enthusiasm.”
In No. 1 singles, Devvarman was able to ward off a pesky Steven Forman, 6-4, 6-4.
“He was pretty good,” Devvarman said. “He had a good serve. I was disappointed that I lost my serve in the second set, but I came back, strung together a few good points there at 4-all and held serve after that to close the match out. I was very happy about that.”
Huey, who defeated Cory Parr, 6-0, 6-3 in No. 2 singles, said everybody wanted to play better following the N.C. State performance.
“After the match, [Boland] really got into us — just got into our faces,” Huey said. “Then we had a great practice [on Saturday] and came out and were a lot more mentally tough and focused.”
Angelinos took care of Jonathan Wolff, 6-4, 6-4.
The Cavaliers opened the match by sweeping the doubles point.
At the No. 1 position, Devvarman and Huey topped Cory Parr and Steven Forman 8-6.
Angelinos and Lee Singer clinched the opening point with their 8-4 win over Wolff and Jason Morgenstern at No. 3 doubles. Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz completed the sweep with a tiebreaker win over Mariusz Adamski and Carlos Salmon at No. 2.
Devvarman said the team was pumped up from the start.
“We knew it was our last regular-season match here and were very excited,” he said. “The way we performed today was really special.”
Added Huey: “The crowd was great today, just awesome and everyone came out and played great. We’re looking to build on it next week in the ACC Tournament.
“I feel like we have a lot more tennis to play and some goals that we really want to reach.”