The Cavaliers’ comeback kid

On the surface, Lee Singer’s win over North Carolina’s Zach Hunter last Sunday would seem hard to forget. After all, how many times is your opponent ambidextrous? Hunter was serving with his left hand and playing right-handed.

But Singer’s victory over the Tar Heels will stay with him for a different reason.

Singer’s late father, Reid Monroe, played tennis for North Carolina in the early 1960s.

“Had he continued, I really think he could have been a pro,” said Ronnie Singer, Lee’s mother. “He was that good.”

Reid Monroe decided on law school instead. Then, several years later, died in a freak accident at work. Lee was just 4 years old.

“He was young, but it was a very difficult thing for him,” said Ronnie Singer, who remarried two years later. “I don’t know if he’s ever truly dealt with it. He loves his new dad, who he’s been with for many years now, but it’s something that was very traumatic in his life.”

Lee’s father, who was working as a hotel developer, was standing on top of a building on a stormy day when he was electrocuted.

Although he didn’t have much time with him, Lee has vivid memories of his dad from their days living in College Station, Texas.

“[There] was always some sports-related activity going on there,” said Singer, whose middle name is Monroe. “He loved getting me into the sports. I was a big Texas A&M fan.

“I was always at the football games and stuff.”

After his father’s death, Singer dabbled in just about every sport until deciding to focus on tennis when he was 8.

Following a standout career as a high-school player in Southern California, Singer — who had offers from the likes of Illinois, Michigan and Texas — arrived at Virginia with big expectations.

Singer, though, has spent nearly his entire three years on grounds trying to earn a permanent place in the singles lineup.

As a freshman, he played sporadically at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, posting a 6-2 record in ACC matches.

Last season, as a sophomore, it seemed like Singer was firmly entrenched at No. 6. However, he injured himself in the ACC tournament and was never able to reclaim his spot after senior Teddy Angelinos started playing lights-out. In essence, Singer got “Wally Pipped,” similar to the New York Yankees first baseman who was replaced by Lou Gehrig.

This spring, following a stellar fall in which he had some big wins — including one over teammate Michael Shabaz — Singer seemed poised to make a splash. But when highly touted freshman Steven Eelkman Rooda became eligible to play, Singer was once again nudged out of the lineup.

“One of the things I said to myself before I came here was that I’d be coming into a school that is contending for a national championship every year,” said Singer, who has been a consistent performer in doubles. “It was a challenge coming in, but I like to challenge myself.

“I’d rather be here than some other school where I could have been playing in the top six all four years. That would be easy. I don’t really want that. I want to work hard for it and realize every day that we have something special.”

It’s just that kind of attitude that epitomizes Singer, according to teammates and coaches.

“Lee’s career has been up and down,” said junior co-captain Houston Barrick, who came in the same year as Singer, “but I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s persevered through some things that the rest of us probably couldn’t deal with.

“His whole thing has always been about the team, whether he’s in the lineup or not, always cheering guys on.”

Virginia coach Brian Boland recalled the grace that Singer showed back in 2007. After playing in 34 straight doubles matches as a freshman, Boland decided to pull him just before the NCAA Final Four match against Georgia.

“It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Boland said. “It was because of a matchup that I thought was better.

“It was painful for Lee, but he handled it the way he has every other situation — with a team-first attitude.”

What has made Singer’s selflessness so unique, Boland said, is the fact that tennis is inherently an individual sport. “He’s the ultimate team guy … to do what he’s done in such a classy way is just special.”

Ronnie Singer and her husband, Jack, couldn’t be more proud of Lee.

“He’s had some really tough times in his life,” Ronnie Singer said. “I just think that he’s a fighter and he doesn’t give up.

“I used to [call] him, ‘The Comeback Kid.’ That was my nickname for him.”

Singer has never let Lee forget about his dad — not that he would. Over the years, she’s shown her son videos, pictures and newspaper clippings of her late husband.

The fortunate thing for Lee, Ronnie Singer said, is that she was able to remarry someone so special. Jack Singer, technically Lee’s step-father, has been in Lee’s life since he was 6. Singer, who just so happens to work as a sports psychologist, has always been a very important person for Lee.

Ronnie and Jack, who live in Laguna Niguel, Calif., make it to as many matches as they can. They plan on being at the ACC tournament that kicks off next week in Cary, N.C.

“They’ve obviously done a wonderful job teaching him morals and values,” Boland said, “because he’s been all about the team since the day he arrived at UVa.”

Singer reclaimed the No. 6 singles spot from Eelkman Rooda before the North Carolina match last Sunday. How long he is able to stay there is uncertain.

But no matter how many more challenges he may face, no matter how many more ambidextrous players he may run into, Singer finds strength in the fact that, to some degree, he is following in his father’s footsteps.

“He’s a huge part of me,” Singer said. “Everything I go through, I think of him.”

Ronnie Singer believes the best is yet to come for her son.

“I think maybe now he’s going to come out and shine again,” she said.