Wealth of knowledge

Since one comes from Duke, and the other from Vanderbilt, yes, you might say that Virginia men’s tennis coach Brian Boland made understanding the mindset of a student-athlete a chief priority when it came to filling the two open positions on his coaching staff.

On Thursday, Boland officially announced the hiring of Andres Pedroso and Scott Brown. Pedroso is a 2001 Duke graduate; Brown is a 2005 Vandy alum.

“That was absolutely something I was intent on finding — a staff that understood the seriousness of academics at the University of Virginia, as well as our commitment to athletic excellence,” Boland said. “These are two young men who come from institutions that are serious about their student-athletes and will understand the commitment that our young men need to have in order to be successful.”

Pedrosa, 31, replaces Tony Bresky as Boland’s top aide. Bresky left the program in June to take over the reins at Cornell.

“I believe that Andres can help bring our program to another level,” Boland said. “He comes to Virginia with a wealth of experience, both as a player and as a coach.

“He has a commitment to our players not only doing well on the court, but representing the university in all the right ways in their commitments to academics.”

Pedroso played on the pro tour for about five years before embarking on a career in New York on Wall Street. He continued to work in finance in Miami before getting back into tennis in 2009 with a job coaching top 14-year-olds at the USTA player development headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla.

Although he’s got some Duke blood in him, Pedroso — a two-time All-American — says he’s “ecstatic” to have landed at Virginia.

“This is a pretty special place,” said Pedroso, whose highest ranking as a pro was 271. “Brian has done an incredible job with this program and it’s going to be a great learning experience for me, learning from a guy like that who has had so much success.”

Pedroso believes he can help players like Michael Shabaz and Sanam Singh take the next step in their post-college careers.

“I think that maybe I can give them a little bit more of a taste of the professional tennis world and the preparation that goes into it — how they train and the right mindset,” he said.

“I think what Brian’s wanting to do is make Virginia a stepping stone to the pros for these players, and I think that’s a lot of what my role will be.”

Brown, a former Vanderbilt standout, replaces Derek Schwandt, who left to be the

No. 1 assistant at Fresno State. Brown, 27, had been working as an instructor at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville.

“Scott was top five in the country in doubles and also a top-20 singles player in the country while at Vanderbilt,” Boland said. “He’ll be a huge part of what we’ll be doing here.”

As a sophomore in 2003, Brown was part of the Vanderbilt team that made it to the NCAA finals. The St. Louis native was a four-time SEC selection. The left-hander played under coach Ken Flach, the former tour player who enjoyed a highly successful doubles career with Robert Seguso.

“[Coaching] was always something in the back of my mind that I wanted to do — get back into college tennis,” Brown said. “Brian and Andres are both terrific coaches, and it’s a chance to work with incredible players — a really high-level team.”

Pedroso and Brown will have big shoes to fill. Bresky and Schwandt were major cogs in a program that lost just one regular-season match over the course of the last three seasons.

Bresky, who was at Virginia for eight years, served as Boland’s right-hand man.

“He was instrumental to our success, and I have tremendous respect for Tony as a pro and as a person,” Boland said. “He did an outstanding job with our student-athletes. He really helped them develop as people and tennis players.”

Boland is hoping Pedroso and Brown can do likewise.