By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. β The University of Virginia menβs tennis team will play in the NCAA tournamentβs Sweet Sixteen at the Boarβs Head Resort on Saturday afternoon. At the same time, the UVA womenβs team will play in the same round of its NCAA tournament, some 560 miles away in Ann Arbor, Mich.
A year ago, both teams advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, and the Virginia men went on to capture the title for the fifth time. The Cavaliersβ director of tennis, Andres Pedroso, is also head coach of the menβs team, so he wonβt be in Michigan on Saturday. But heβll be pulling for his counterpart, Sara OβLeary, and her team.
βSara and I have always believed that when one program is doing well, itβs really good for the other program,β Pedroso said. βI really think that if both teams are working together, things that are happening on one team translate toward the other team, and itβs only positive and beneficial for everyone.β
This marks the third straight season that both UVA teams have reached the third round of their respective NCAA tournaments. The two programs are close, and itβs βbeen a total team effort,β Pedroso said. βI was dead on when it came to Saraβs character when we decided to hire her as the head womenβs tennis coach. Sheβs just been an incredible partner in this project, and Iβm really proud of what sheβs done with her team.β
Pedroso said he loves the way the UVA womenβs team βfights. Thatβs just been kind of a staple characteristic of her team: their toughness, their competitiveness. Every single match they play, they either win or they give themselves a chance to win. They never go down easy. When you play Virginia womenβs tennis, itβs always a war, and we take pride in that on the menβs side, too.β
At 1 p.m. Saturday, the 12th-seeded UVA women (20-6) take on No. 5 seed Michigan (24-3) in Ann Arbor. This will be the teamsβ second meeting this season. In February, in the ITA National Team Indoor Championshipβs round of 16, the Wolverines defeated the Wahoos 4-2 in Seattle.
βIt was definitely a very competitive match,β OβLeary said this week.
The Cavaliers werenβt at full strength that day. Julia Adams, who usually plays No. 1 singles, was ill. She gutted out her doubles match with partner Melodie Collard but wasnβt able to play singles. That meant the other players in UVAβs singles lineup each moved up…