Playing time, contributions rise for Cavs’ Sherrill
By Michael Phillips
Published: February 11, 2010
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Normally when the applause dries up, it's not a good sign for a basketball player. But for Will Sherrill, it meant a promotion in the eyes of Virginia fans.

At the start of the season, the walk-on forward got a loud ovation whenever he entered the game -- as is basketball tradition for walk-ons, who generally get on the court only at the end of games.

Now, though, Sherrill is off the bench in the first half and has averaged 17 minutes of playing time this season. In his first two years with the Cavs, he averaged 1.7 and 1.9 minutes.

He's also getting minutes against some of the ACC's best players, guys who are making him take his game to a new level.

"I'm definitely in the best shape of my life right now, that's for sure," he said. "I'm playing against guys who a lot of times are bigger than me and quicker than me."

He described feeling winded after one trip up and down the court against a star player early in the season, but now he'll play an entire series of possessions with the game on the line.

Sherrill initially saw the court because of an injury to forward Mike Scott, leaving coach Tony Bennett with limited options. Sherrill had a coming-out party in Cancun, as the Cavs faced Cleveland State in a game that was televised on a poor-quality feed. Fans in the states who stuck with the broadcast saw Sherrill score 18 points, still his career high.

He did it with his 3-point shot, which is rare for a forward. After making 4 of 5 shots from behind the arc in the Cancun game, he has settled down and is making 38 percent of his 3-point attempts.

"The previous coaching staff said that if you want to see the floor, you're going to have to be able to hit that shot," Sherrill said. "I've always shot my 3 with confidence -- and Coach Bennett and his staff have given me the freedom to take that shot."

Even with a post-Cancun letdown, where he went 0 for 6 in the next two games, the coaching staff has let him stick with it. He feels comfortable with that aspect of his game.

But for the coaching staff, Sherrill's contribution isn't in scoring, but for what coach Tony Bennett describes as the "x-factor plays" -- ones that involve hustle, setting screens and forcing turnovers.

Bennett said that was going to be particularly important against Maryland and the Terps' star, Greivis Vasquez. The game at College Park, which was postponed Tuesday because of snow, will be played Monday night at 8 and carried by ESPN360.com.

"With guys like that, you have to make them figure out ways to earn everything," he said. "Because if they can get running loose and not be challenged or contested, it can be a long night for you."

That's going to be the challenge for Sherrill, who has been on the radar screen since that breakout game.

He said his teammates always have viewed him as a strong player, but now opposing coaches are planning for him.

"It didn't really change much from [my teammates'] points of view, but it definitely changed from an opponent's point of view," he said. "Also from fans and stuff like that. They viewed me as a real contributor to the team."

He's hoping to build on that in the final weeks of the season and help the Cavs through what promises to be their toughest stretch yet as they play Saturday, Monday and Wednesday in the upcoming week.

"I just have to be smart about what kind of plays I make -- make the hustle plays, play good defense, rebound well," he said. "Just kind of do a lot of the little things that help us win."

Lots on the line in UVa-Tech tilt
OUR LEAGUE: Lots on the line in UVa-Tech tilt
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: February 11, 2010
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Scattershooting around the ACC, while noting that Saturday’s showdown in Blacksburg might be the game of the year for both the Cavaliers and Hokies ...

Virginia Tech and Virginia were tied at 5-3 in the ACC heading into Wednesday night’s Hokies visit to N.C. State, and UVa, thanks to Jack Frost, won’t play again until its game at Tech.

Both teams face challenging schedules immediately afterward, with Tech taking on Wake Forest (at home) before traveling to Duke and Boston College, then hosts Maryland.

Virginia, meanwhile, will be experiencing what it’s like to play in the NBA with three games over five days: at Tech on Saturday, at Maryland (snow make-up) on Monday night and at home against Florida State next Wednesday. If that’s not enough, the Cavs go on the road to Clemson next Saturday. That’s four games in eight days.

If UVa loses at Blacksburg, that means Tech will sweep the series, which could be important for ACC tournament seeding, and could start a second-half season slide for the Cavaliers if they’re not mindful of the minefield that lies ahead.

If the Hokies lose, it would be Tech’s first home loss after going 12-0, and could also make them more vulnerable to a similar slide.

Neither team can afford to lose this one, and after UVa dropped a home overtime loss to Tech recently, another defeat could be damaging.

Halfway home

With most of the ACC basketball teams having approached the mid-point of the season, it’s time to hand out our annual midseason honors.

This is how we see it after the first half of league play:

All-ACC first team: Sylven Landesberg, Virginia; Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech; Jon Scheyer, Duke; Greivis Vasquez, Maryland; Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest.

Second team: Kyle Singler, Duke; Nolan Smith, Duke; Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech; Trevor Booker, Clemson; Tracy Smith, N.C. State.

Player of the year: Tough to choose, but we’ll take Landesberg over Delaney at the mid-point. That could change in the second half when Scheyer or Vasquez could move into the lead.

Rookie of the year: Hands down, Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors.

Coach of the year: Tight race, but we’ll take Virginia’s Tony Bennett over Gary Williams and Seth Greenberg at the break. That could change the second half as well, and Wake’s Dino Gaudio could move into the race.

Early birds

It was interesting to take a look at the number of early admissions of football players in the ACC and SEC at the recent semester break.

While the SEC’s overall number (52) of early enrollees wasn’t drastically different than the ACC’s total (47), there are vast differences between some of the schools in each conference.

For instance, Miami (7), Virginia Tech (6) and Wake Forest (6) lead the ACC in this latest group of recruits, while the SEC leaders are Alabama and Florida with 11 apiece, followed by Tennessee with 8.

On the other end of the spectrum, Virginia allowed only one (quarterback Michael Strauss of Key Biscayne, Fla.), while even Duke and Vanderbilt allowed two each, and Boston College four.

It is our opinion that UVa needs to end its antiquated practice of frowning upon early admissions for football players. Virginia allowed one last year (defensive end Will Hill).

The argument at Virginia has been that it’s denying early enrollers the opportunity to come in with the rest of their overall student body class, a lame argument when it comes to football players.

Some of the early enrollees at schools are high school students that graduated early, such as Alabama quarterback Philip Sims of Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, while some are junior college transfers (even Vandy had one of those), to prep schoolers to grayshirts. Of Wake Forest’s six early admissions, three graduated from high school in 2009 and sat out last fall but enrolled in January.

Tell me it doesn’t make a huge difference down the road when kids like the three Deacons can miss the ’09 season, come in during January, work in spring practice, then be redshirted in 2010. Lots of schools have been doing this for a long time, and it makes an impact later on.

Stat of the week

When Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, the ACC’s leading scorer, hit 20 free throws to help beat Clemson last weekend, the 20 tied for the second-most in ACC history.

No place like …

Littlejohn Coliseum for Clemson’s Tigers, who went into last night’s game against Florida State, having dropped four of the last five games. Clemson started a three-game home stand last night with the Seminoles, followed by dates against Miami and Virginia.

Better shooting could be a quick fix, or perhaps even a permanent remedy, for what’s been ailing the Tigers.

Clemson entered Wednesday night’s game shooting a putrid 25.6 percent from Bonusphere, having connected on a mere 42 of 164 in ACC play. Senior small forward David Potter has been the most obvious victim of the shooting slump. Prior to Clemson’s loss at Virginia Tech over last weekend, Potter had missed 36 of his previous 44 attempts from the field, but managed to connect on 3 of 5 against the Hokies.

Unhappy faces

This wild ACC season is wearing on many of the league coaches.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams said after his team got hammered at Maryland on Sunday that nobody is going to feel sorry for the Tar Heels, and shouldn’t.

He’s right. Every team in the league is going to give its best shot to Carolina, well, just because it’s Carolina. Williams’ team had dropped six of its last seven and seven of its last 10 heading into Wednesday night’s game against Duke, and a year after winning the national title, Williams has never been more miserable in his coaching life.

Then there’s Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt, who has been fuming over his team’s lack of toughness and lack of basketball IQ as of late.

After squeaking out a 73-71 over N.C. State last Saturday, Hewitt told his team that he thought the second-half play against Duke (in a 19-point loss last Thursday) was the most embarrassed he had been in his 10 years at Georgia Tech, but that his team topped that embarrassment against State because his squad just didn’t listen.

The only thing that saved the Jackets was Wolfpacker Julius Mays missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

And, that left State coach Sidney Lowe in a state of meltdown. In fact, Lowe was so incensed at the referees at the end of the game (Lowe felt Mays had been fouled), that he forgot to shake Hewitt’s hand after the game.

“The heat of the moment got to me there,” Lowe said afterward (he went to the Tech locker room to finally congratulate Hewitt). “I was a little upset at some things. I don’t want to talk about the officials, but you all saw it. I guess I can say that I thought [Mays] got fouled. They didn’t call it.”

Is it just me, or has there been a huge drop off in the quality of ACC officiating the past couple of years?

And, why, is an excellent official like Duke Edsall (who lives in Roanoke, I believe) no longer calling ACC games? In fact, he hasn’t called ACC hoops since 2006-07. I caught Edsall in the big Kansas vs. Kansas State game recently and working as the lead official, he was confronted with numerous key calls in the game and was 100 percent correct on all of them.

Free throws

Going into Wednesday night’s game at Clemson, Florida State had held 59 straight opponents to less than 50 percent field goal shooting, even more challenging for a Tigers’ team already in a shooting slump. ... Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez is the 13th player in ACC history to record 700 or more assists (702). ... As unhappy as Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt is with his team’s play, the Jackets still haven’t allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent or higher this season. ... North Carolina needs three more wins to reach 2,000 victories in program history, which would make the Tar Heels only the second major college basketball team to reach that mark, joining Kentucky. Question is, can the Tar Heels win three more this season?
 

Virginia men's basketball prepares for 5 games in 11 days

It's a story line Virginia fans will hear frequently the next two weeks, so let's start looking at it today. The Cavaliers (14-7, 5-3 ACC) play five games in the next 11 days. Four are on the road. Three come against teams with winning records in the ACC, with the other at Clemson, which is 4-5 in the ACC but considered one of the conference's more dangerous teams.

It is not hyperbole to suggest that the way Virginia emerges from this stretch on the morning of Feb. 24 will dictate whether NCAA tournament discussion is legitimate.

"A lot of people are saying we were a surprise this season and we've done really well, but we don't feel like we're done. We don't feel like we've had a successful season yet," junior forward Will Sherrill said after Wednesday morning's practice. "This stretch is going to show ourselves, and show the ACC, what we're made of. I think it's going to be a great challenge for us."

Although every game is important, the crucial games are at Virginia Tech, vs. Florida State and at Miami.

It's fair to consider the Hokies a bubble team at this point because of their uninspiring non-conference schedule. Virginia Tech already beat Virginia in John Paul Jones Arena, so it would be almost impossible for the Cavaliers to make the NCAA tournament over the Hokies if Virginia suffered two losses to its rival.

The Florida State game is important because Virginia must protect its home court. Any ambitions of finishing the stretch with at least three win almost certainly needs to include the home game.

I also point out the Miami game because the Hurricanes have struggled this season and did not match up well against Virginia when the two teams met on Jan. 16. It's hard to go into places such as Maryland and Clemson and leave with a victory, but a road game at Miami is not as imposing.

However, it's fair to say every game is important in the next two weeks. Virginia has a plus-two margin in its ACC record, but that can easily be spoiled during this stretch. Whether Virginia emerges with a winning record or a losing record -- there's no possibility of finishing .500 through 13 games -- could determine the Cavaliers' postseason prospects.

"I think as we get into it, we'll realize that," Sherrill said. "As big as this stretch is, you can't think of the magnitude of five games in 11 days. We can't do anything about playing Florida State today. We got to focus on Virginia Tech."

By Zach Berman

Cavaliers walk fine line between winning and losing

Saturday was two snowstorms ago at this point, but it was also the last time Virginia played. The Cavaliers lost in overtime to Wake Forest, which marked Virginia's fifth loss this season by five points or less.

Each year, there are certain teams on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble that suffered a number of close losses. Virginia Tech, for example, suffered that fate last season and made the NIT. This year, the Hokies have won close games. And the difference between the teams that win close games and lose close games is often evident.

"They're usually playing in March," said Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg, whose team plays the Cavaliers on Saturday.

Although Virginia's players contend that they've won their share of close games, it depends what you consider close. There were tight games when Virginia pulled away in the end with free throws -- "The games we have won we made our free throws and have been solid," Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said -- but the Cavaliers have won only one game by five points or less.

"I think if you look at the games we've won, they're not by five points or less, but we won a number of close games, too," forward Will Sherrill said, pointing to wins over Alabama-Birmingham, UNC Wilmington and North Carolina State. "I don't think it's something that in close games, we freeze or tense up or anything like that. I just think, sometimes, the ball doesn't bounce our ways. And in a number of those losses we were making free throws or making shots to make it closer, but we really hadn't put ourselves in a position to win."

By Zach Berman

Remembering the ‘Bullet’ Bill
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Columnist
Sports
February 11, 2010 0

When William McGarvey Dudley died a week ago today at the age of 88, few students blinked an eye. Heck, it took nearly a week for this newspaper to run a story about him.
But if there’s any community who should mourn the passing of “Bullet” Bill Dudley, it is the University community.

Dudley was an all-star in numerous areas. He enrolled at here in 1938 and graduated in 1941. He was a member of the Z Society. He served the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. He spent two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Oh, and he was the greatest Virginia football player of all time.

Dudley was not well-known as a football player when he came to Virginia — though he was a three-sport athlete in high school, he came to college at the age of 16 and weighed in at 150 pounds. Back then, freshmen weren’t allowed to play with the varsity. Even when he was a sophomore, though, it took the coaching staff some convincing to give him a uniform. The coaches finally gave him one, but only so he could serve as the fifth-team tailback.

As so often happens in football, however, injuries ahead of Dudley presented him with an opportunity. The first three tailbacks went down, and, as the story goes, Dudley won a coin toss between him and the fourth-string tailback for who would start in a game against Navy. All Dudley did that day was run a 45-yard reverse for a touchdown and return a punt 43 yards for another score.

And Dudley’s utility that day would foreshadow just how useful he became to Virginia. Sure, he was a star tailback. But he also threw touchdown passes. He kicked field goals and extra points. He punted. He intercepted passes as a defensive back.

His senior season in 1941 was one of the best seasons any college football player had ever compiled. He led the nation in scoring (134 points), touchdowns (18) and total yards (2,467). And Dudley ended his 1941 season with a bang against the Cavaliers’ biggest rivals at the time: North Carolina. Dudley carried 17 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns — that’s a ridiculous 30.7 yards per carry — completed 6-of-11 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown, and kicked four extra points. By a score of 28-7, Virginia won the battle of the “Oldest Rivalry of the South” for the first time in nine years.

And, in case you didn’t do the math on the scoring, Dudley scored every single point that day. He was 19 years old.

The Cavaliers finished 8-1 that season, falling only to then-powerhouse Yale. Dudley’s 29 touchdowns, 23 extra points and one field goal represented nearly half of the team’s scoring. On the season, he ran for 968 yards, passed for 856 yards, caught six passes, averaged 17.2 yards on 28 punt returns, made four interceptions and averaged 35.8 yards per punt. He became the first consensus All-American in the history of Virginia football, won the Maxwell Trophy and the Washington Touchdown Club’s Camp Memorial Trophy for the most outstanding college football player and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy vote.

The greatness didn’t stop there. He was the No. 1 Draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1942. But after just one season, he volunteered for the service. Age, though, was still a problem for Dudley — still younger than 21 years of age, he had to get his parents to sign a release for him to join the Army Air Corps.

After serving two years as a flight instructor and flying one mission in Japan, Dudley returned to the Steelers in 1945. He went onto a nine-year career in the pros — three with the Steelers, three with the Detroit Lions and three with the Washington Redskins. He amassed 8,157 yards in rushing, receiving and kick returns; scored 484 points; and intercepted 23 passes. He played in three pro bowls and was a first-team or second-team all-NFL selection on six occasions.

With the Steelers in 1946, Dudley led the league in four categories: rushing (604 yards), interceptions (10 for 242 yards), punt returns (27 for 385 yards) and lateral passes attempted. No one had ever led the league in four unrelated categories as Dudley did, and no one has since. Needless to say, Dudley won the MVP award that season

During 1956, Dudley was the first Virginia football player ever to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Ten years later, he was selected to the NFL Hall of Fame, becoming one of just a handful of former University athletes to be selected to a professional hall of fame.

After Dudley retired, he went on to serve two terms with the Virginia House of Delegates. Most notably, he was instrumental in raising the Virginia driving age from 14 to 16 and in instituting the state’s first sales tax to help finance the commonwealth’s first community colleges. With his brother Jim, he also enjoyed a 50-year career in the life insurance business.

All the while, he remained a loyal Wahoo. Some of you might remember that Dudley raised the “Power of Orange” flag before a Virginia home football game this season. He was in attendance at new Virginia coach Mike London’s welcoming press conference, just weeks prior to his 88th birthday Dec. 24.

The morning of Jan. 30, however, Dudley suffered a stroke. Five days later, Dudley passed away, in the arms of his wife, Libba, with whom he was married for 62 years.

Yet, even with the passing of the greatest Cavalier football player of all time, I did not hear one word about it within the student community.

I hope that those who bothered to read this column will join me in saluting “Bullet” Bill Dudley.

Storms frustrate UVa, Tech skippers
By Doug Doughty | The Roanoke Times

It has been seven years since baseball coach Brian O'Connor left Notre Dame for Virginia, but this winter it's like he never left South Bend, Ind.

For Virginia Tech's Pete Hughes, who expected moderate temperatures when he left Boston College four years ago, record snowfalls this year have been equally frustrating.

"I wish I was in Chestnut Hill right now," said Hughes, whose Hokies begin the season on Feb. 19 against Kentucky in Conway, S.C. "We had an unbelievable bubble we practiced in over our football field. We could play live games under that thing."

Virginia, which is ranked No. 2 in the country after its trip to the 2009 College World Series, visits Greenville, N.C., on Feb. 19 for a three-game weekend series with 11th-ranked East Carolina.

"I don't anticipate getting on the field 'till we go to East Carolina," O'Connor said. "In the past, we've been out on the field practicing all but three or four days in the three weeks leading up to the season."

O'Connor said the succession of snowstorms is "nothing like I've experienced in my coaching time here," but Notre Dame had to be close.

"I lived that for nine years," said O'Connor, who was the Fighting Irish's top assistant. "The first time you stepped on grass was your first game. It's different. We've spent a lot of time in our indoor batting cages. You just hope that they're reading the ball off the bat and that their instincts are good enough."

Since returning from Christmas break, Tech has had access to a new indoor facility.

"Thank God we have it now," Hughes said. "I don't know where we would have been without it. We get some ground-ball work in there. We've have four huge hitting tunnels; we can get all of our live pitching and hitting in there. But as far as controlling our running game and putting in our offense, we need to go outside to do that.

"It's [the ACC] a tough league. You've got to be resilient. Now's a good a time as any to learn to be resilient."

Virginia begins its home schedule Feb. 24 against George Washington. The Hokies' home opener is slated for March 2 against Radford, which allows a little more time for the snow to melt.

"This is my campaign for Field Turf," Hughes said. "Field Turf is gaining a tremendous amount of momentum with winters like this. [Athletic director] Jim Weaver knows the importance of it. He's also a very good businessman and he's not going to spend money we don't have."

-O'Connor confirmed that UVa sophomore Jared King from Pulaski County will be redshirted this season after undergoing a shoulder operation that normally needs 9-12 months of rehabilitation. King, an infielder, played in 30 games for the Cavaliers (49-15-1) in 2009 and made 19 starts.

Blue-chipper resurfaces

Football coach Danny Rocco pulled another rabbit out of his hat at Liberty, signing linebacker J'Courtney Williams, a former high school All-American who began his career at Virginia.

Williams was rated the No. 4 prospect in Virginia when he came out of Christchurch School in 2007 but he never played for Virginia. Williams was redshirted by the Cavaliers in 2007; then, in the spring of 2008, he was dismissed from the team after he was arrested in connection with the theft of a wallet at UVa's Aquatic and Fitness Center.

Williams played in four games this past season at El Camino College, a two-year program in Torrance, Calif. He was one of 16 El Camino players to sign letters-of-intent, including Tennessee recruit Matt Simms, son of NFL analyst Phil Simms.

More recruiting

Marshall has signed Josh Lovell, a 6-foot-6, 266-pound offensive lineman from Christchurch School who earlier had committed to Maryland. Lovell, a tight end for most of his career, played under Tommy Reamon at Gloucester High School before spending the past two seasons at Christchurch.

-Temple football signees include Jamien Newman, a 6-4, 254-pound defensive end from Colonial Heights and Matoaca High School. Newman might be the most unheralded Division I-A signee in the state this year; he had 14 sacks but did not make first-team all-district.

Non-revenue

Hidden Valley volleyball player Sam Ringer, a first-team All-Timesland selection and the Region IV player of the year, has accepted an invitation to play for Juniata College, a Division III volleyball power in Huntingdon, Pa. Juniata coach Larry Bock is the winningest NCAA volleyball coach in any division and the team has made 29 straight NCAA appearances, with two national titles.

-Mary Grace Lemon, a senior at E.C. Glass in Lynchburg, has signed a letter-of-intent with VMI. Lemon, a school record-holder who is ranked No. 1 in Virginia in the discus, is the grand daughter of one-time major-league baseball slugger Jim Lemon.

Connections

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed wide receiver Brandon London, son of new UVa coach Mike London, as a free agent. Brandon London played at Charlottesville High School and Fork Union Military Academy before enjoying a distinguished career at Massachusetts, where he had 148 receptions and more than 2,000 yards. London has been to camp with the New York Giants and Miami.

Mike London's redshirting philosophy

Many Virginia fans took umbrage with former Virginia coach Al Groh's philosophy on redshirting -- or lack thereof. Groh often said when the player is ready to play, the coaching staff is ready to play him. This was sometimes in conflict with typical roster management of holding a player back if the position was particularly deep, or only using players ready to play major roles on offense or defense (as opposed to special teams roles).

Naturally, Coach Mike London was faced with questions about what became a hot-button issue, especially toward the end of his tenure at Virginia.

"I think with linemen you'd like to redshirt linemen just because the physical toll, the expectations that it has on a linemen," London said. "In the skill position, you put him out there, flank him out, he's going one-on-one with somebody else, you can utilize his speed or athleticism, if he's ready to play, if he's better than the ones you have, he can contribute to your team, then you're more inclined to play a player like that."

London stuck to Groh's well-reasoned theory that a player should play if he's ready, citing the terms of a player's readiness as how quickly they learn the schemes and how able they are athletically to adjust to the faster pace of college football.

London also acknowledged that certain players come to college with the ambition of playing immediately. However, the players on the roster and the challenges of the transition to Virginia's academics also become a factor.

"Once they come in, look around, see the talent, a lot of times they think it best to sit for a year. I'm okay with that, too," London said. Academically, you also need to build your academic muscles also and get acclimated to college, which this is a challenging place, which is okay. I think it will benefit them."

By Zach Berman

Boar’s Head hosts NCAA’s best
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 11, 2010
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Couldn’t make it to the Australian Open last month? That’s OK. Now’s your chance to see some of the best amateur tennis in the world.

On Friday, the 2010 ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships begin right here in Charlottesville at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The event runs through Monday.

The best part about the whole shebang? Admission is free.

Virginia, the No. 2 seed, will be looking to win a third consecutive ITA title — something accomplished by only one other school in the 35-year history of the event (Stanford). The Cavaliers defeated Georgia in last year’s final and Ohio State the year before.

UVa will open up on Friday against No. 15 Alabama. The Cavaliers had their 63-match winning streak snapped by Kentucky last week. The 13th-seeded Wildcats will be taking on fourth-seeded UCLA in the first round.

USC, the defending NCAA champion and top seed, plays Fresno State.

Virginia is led by juniors Sanam Singh and Michael Shabaz, who will play at No. 1 and No. 2 singles (who gets slotted at which spot is still up in the air).

In the fall, Singh made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the Virginia National Bank event in Charlottesville.

Shabaz, meanwhile, won the NCAA doubles championship last spring with former Wahoo Dom Inglot and earned a wildcard entry into the main draw at the U.S. Open this past summer.

Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisville, Mississippi, Ohio State, Stanford, Tennessee and Texas round out the

16-school field. The losers each day will move into the consolation bracket.
 

Cavaliers emphasize basics going into ITA tournament
Boland reshuffles doubles pairings as team hopes to find footing after loss
Emily Poe, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer
Men's Tennis / Sports
February 11, 2010 0

Following its first regular season loss since 2006 Saturday, the No. 2 Virginia men’s tennis team now looks to reclaim its dominance at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Team Indoor Championship this weekend at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville.
Virginia will be joined by 15 other top teams in the country, including No. 1 USC, No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 Georgia and No. 13 Kentucky.
This will be the first time Charlottesville has hosted the tournament, and coach Brian Boland expressed his excitement about the prospect of playing on his team’s courts.
“It feels great,” Boland said. “It’s the best in the country … And to bring all those teams into our home turf at one time and play the biggest tournament of the year … is a tremendous honor for our program and a great opportunity for our fans.”
The ITAs not only will be an ideal opportunity for local tennis fans to see the nation’s best, but also will be an opportunity for the Cavaliers, who are itching to prove themselves following last Saturday’s loss to Kentucky, which broke the team’s 63-match regular season win streak.
After the loss, Boland instituted a realignment of the team’s doubles pairings in an attempt to pair more complementary styles together. This weekend, junior Sanam Singh will play with senior Lee Singer, junior Michael Shabaz with sophomore Drew Courtney and senior Houston Barrick with freshman Jarmere Jenkins.
“We feel like if we get our doubles game up to where it should be, then we should be difficult to beat,” said Shabaz, who will play with his third different partner of the season. “We’re hoping that this could be last shift.”
Apart from reworking the doubles tandems, the Cavaliers are preparing for the tournament by turning to a “back to basics” approach to the game: honing in on strokes, movement and core tactics — skills the players have developed since they first picked up rackets.
“Just basic fundamentals,” Shabaz said. “Usually, when things aren’t going great in any sport, you always want to go back to the fundamentals.”
Boland added that the squad also will concentrate on taking things one contest at a time — particularly after last weekend’s defeat — beginning first and foremost with No. 15 Alabama this Friday.
“I’m looking forward to trying to beat Alabama,” Boland said with a smile. “We really need to focus each and every moment of practice and be aware of what just happened this past weekend and make that an extremely motivating factor for us.”
Although the team’s loss to Kentucky may have illuminated pressing weaknesses, it also seems to have made the Virginia men’s tennis team even more hungry for success.
“We like pressure,” Singh said.