Inglot fuels Cavs

Coming into this year, one of the biggest holes in the history of Virginia athletics existed on the men’s tennis team: Who was going to step in at the No. 1 singles spot for two-time NCAA champion Somdev Devvarman?
So far, senior Dom Inglot has plugged the hole.
On Sunday afternoon at the Snyder Tennis Center, “The Dominator” dominated Georgia Tech’s Guillermo Gomez.
Inglot, the No. 15 player in the country, used his blistering serve to upset the No. 12 Gomez, 6-2, 6-3, as No. 1-ranked Virginia remained undefeated, cruising to an easy 6-1 win over No. 62 Georgia Tech.
“It’s going to be extremely hard to fill Sommy’s shoes, if not impossible,” Inglot said. “I’m just doing the best that I can and trying to lead the team.
“I’m really happy with the way it’s been going outdoors. I just hope I can keep doing it and we can achieve some really good things this year.”
From the very first point of the match, the London, England native appeared very sharp. Inglot’s serve was on and that spelled bad news for Gomez.
“I went to bed early and tried to get myself as prepared as possible,” said Inglot, who improved to 12-4 on the season. “I think the win on Friday [over Clemson’s Carlos Alvarez] really gave me a lot of confidence going into this match.”
Inglot, a senior co-captain, was familiar with Gomez. They had played when they were sophomores at the regional indoor quarterfinals. Inglot won in three sets.
“I knew it would be a bit of a tough one,” Inglot said. “I knew he had a single-handed backhand that I was going to try and exploit and I knew he would come to the net a lot as well, so I was trying to make a few good passing shots at the right times.
“I think I served well and really retuned well today.”
Gomez said the 6-foot-5 Inglot just played a great match.
“He’s a very big guy,” Gomez said. “He covers a lot when he comes to the net and you don’t really see any space. When you play him, you really have to play tough, solid and match him right away before he gets confidence.”
Virginia coach Brian Boland was extremely pleased with Inglot’s effort.
“Dom continues to work hard and improve and impress us with each match and in practice,” Boland said. “We’re really pleased with his progress and development in the last few weeks and I think the best is still in front of him.”
The win by Inglot capped a great weekend for Virginia, which had defeated Clemson on Friday night.
Against Georgia Tech, UVa came out strong, winning the doubles point. In singles, Inglot, Michael Shabaz, Sanam Singh, Houston Barrick and Drew Courtney were all victorious.
With the win, Virginia (20-0, 5-0 ACC) won at least 20 matches for the seventh consecutive year. UVa, which plays at Miami and Florida State this weekend, has now won 52 of its last 53 matches.
“I think it’s a tremendous accomplishment,” Boland said. “Consistency is a hard thing to come by, particularly in Division I tennis where there are 300 schools all over the country. It’s something we’re really proud of.”