Top-ranked Cavs open ACC tourney with Pack

By Whitey Reid

Published: April 17, 2008

With an undefeated squad that has been ranked No. 1 since January, Virginia men’s tennis coach Brian Boland hasn’t had too many occasions to be angry this season.
However, seven days ago, Boland clearly wasn’t a happy camper.
The Cavaliers defeated N.C. State with relative ease (5-2) - but they didn’t look very good doing it.
This morning in Altamonte Springs, Fla., Virginia (25-0, 11-0) will have a chance for a more aesthetically pleasing performance when it takes on the Wolfpack in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
UVa, the heavy favorite to win the four-day event, is coming off an impressive Senior Day victory over Wake Forest on Sunday. In that match, the Cavaliers, led by Somdev Devvarman - who was named ACC player of the year on Thursday - didn’t drop a single set.
Top-seeded Virginia, by virtue of its undefeated league record, earned a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament.
Meanwhile, eighth-seeded N.C. State had to sweat out a tight 4-3 win over Georgia Tech in its first-round match on Thursday.
“I think the advantage is that they got used to the courts here and they got a match in,” said Boland, speaking by phone from Florida, “but at the same time, we’ll be a little fresher.”
Having an extra bounce will be important for Virginia. Several Cavaliers were under the weather when the teams squared off in Charlottesville.
Although his team was far from full strength on April 11, Boland sounded like he was expecting a competitive match today.
“I have a lot of respect for [N.C. State],” Boland said. “They’re a team that made it to the quarterfinals of the [NCAA Tournament] last year and return most of their players.
“They gave us a tough match, so we’re going to have to come out and play well. It should be a good match.”
Dom Inglot and Sanam Singh will likely have some extra motivation this morning. Inglot and Singh didn’t play well in their singles losses to the Wolfpack.
Inglot was defeated in straight sets to Jay Weinacker, while Singh lost in a third-set tiebreaker to Christian Welte.
“We’re the healthiest we’ve been in weeks, so now we’re just ready to go out and have some fun,” said Boland, who, as expected, was named ACC coach of the year on Thursday. “It’s time to play some of our best tennis and I know the guys are feeling good about themselves. We had very, very good preparation this week.”