Cavs ugly and yet effective

Not playing your best and still managing to defeat your opponent is the hallmark of a great team. Doing so on the road is even more impressive.

That’s why Virginia coach Brian Boland was in a good mood on Monday afternoon.

Over the weekend, Boland’s bunch didn’t have its ‘A’ game, but found a way to beat pesky Miami and Florida State teams. No. 1 Virginia (22-0, 7-0 ACC) knocked off the Hurricanes and Seminoles by identical 4-3 scores to stay undefeated.

“It’s always tough to play on the road in the ACC,” Boland said. “It was an opportunity for us to deal with some adversity.

“I thought the guys did a good job of handling it. Certainly we could have played better as a team, but there were certainly some individual highlights.”

Michael Shabaz was one of the brightest. The sophomore played lights out, dropping just four games in two dominating straight-set wins at No. 2 singles. He also teamed with Dom Inglot to win both his doubles matches.

Co-captain Houston Barrick also came up big, winning both his singles matches at No. 4 and his doubles matches with Sanam Singh.

Strong play in doubles was a major key to the team’s victories in the Sunshine State. That has been a trend throughout the spring. Virginia has lost just one doubles point (to UCLA).

This weekend, things won’t get any easier for Virginia. The Wahoos host Duke and North Carolina. “We always seem to get everyone’s best,” Boland said. “We’re starting to get used to that.”

Virginia will likely welcome back Steven Eelkman Rooda. The freshman from the Netherlands didn’t play in Florida due to injury.

“He’s someone who I think is very important to our starting lineup and has unbelievable potential,” Boland said. “He’s proven that throughout the entire spring so far.”