UVa takes title again

No Somdev Devvarman. No Treat Huey. No Teddy Angelinos.
No problem.
A year after losing its top three players to graduation, the Virginia men’s tennis team hasn’t missed a beat.
On Sunday afternoon in Cary, N.C., top-ranked UVa wrapped up its third straight ACC championship and its fifth in the past six years. The Cavaliers, behind tournament most valuable player Dom Inglot, beat Wake Forest 4-0.
“I am really proud of this championship,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland, whose team has won 45 consecutive matches against ACC opponents. “We lost three of the best players in the country from last year. It says a lot about the young men on this team that they were able to step up this season.
“They saw it as an opportunity to play higher in the lineup. They worked harder in the off-season and the results showed that.”
Undefeated Virginia
(29-0) won all three of its matches in the tournament by a 4-0 score, becoming the first team in ACC tournament history to accomplish the feat.
“I thought overall we played really well,” said Virginia sophomore Michael Shabaz. “It’s tough when teams are always gunning for you, but I thought we really rose to the challenge.”
Against Wake, UVa took the 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point.
The Demon Deacons (20-9) took an early advantage as Cory Parr and Steve Forman bested Inglot and Shabaz 8-5 at No. 1. But Virginia was able to draw even as Houston Barrick and Sanam Singh topped Iain Atkinson and Carlos Salmon, 8-6, at No. 2.
With the opening point on the line, freshman Drew Courtney and junior Lee Singer defeated Jonathan Wolff and David Hopkins by an 8-3 score at No. 3.
Virginia started singles in strong fashion, winning all six first sets. Inglot made the score 2-0 with his 6-4, 6-3 win over Parr at the top position.
Courtney put the Cavaliers on the brink of the championship with his 6-3, 6-2 win over Atkinson at No. 5 singles. With former stars Devvarman and Huey in attendance, Singh clinched the title for Virginia as he completed a 6-2, 7-5 win over Forman at No. 2 singles.
“We have won five of the last six ACC Tournaments, but this one is really special,” Boland said. “It was a great performance by the guys.
“We came in really well prepared. I was really impressed with how well we dealt with some tough situations throughout the weekend. The team just gets better and better with each match. It was a great accomplishment to win the ACC tournament in such convincing fashion.”
By winning the ACC title, Virginia receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The field of 64 will be announced on April 28.
“We have to continue to try and get better with each day of practice and be really prepared,” Boland said. “I have no doubt that the guys will.”