UVa men's tennis preview: Cavaliers reload for title run

Every season Virginia men’s tennis coach Brian Boland seems to lose his best players to graduation. Every season you think there could be no way that his team could be as good as it was the season before.

And almost every season you are wrong.

Boland and his staff, which includes the recently promoted Andre Pedroso (to associate coach), have an incredible knack for developing talent on their roster.

They also have an Obi-Wan Kenobi-like skill for reeling in the best recruits from around the world.

This season’s addition is freshman Mitchell Frank, who is already ranked No. 1 in the country after winning both the ITA All-American and ITA National Indoor titles in the fall. The Annandale, Va. native joins returning Virginia players Jarmere Jenkins and Alex Domijan to form a Big 3 in Boland’s singles lineup that is the envy of the college tennis world.

Tonight at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, UVa — which is ranked No. 2 in the country (behind reigning NCAA champion USC) — kicks off its home season against No. 17 Texas. The Cavaliers then host No. 5 Florida on Saturday and No. 11 Texas A&M on Sunday.

At stake: Virginia’s 89-match home winning streak.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve brought in three teams back-to-back-to-back who are this strong,” Boland said. “They’re all powerhouses from the around the country. It should be good for our team. We’ll be tested early and it will certainly get us ready for national indoors. It’s an exciting time.”

This weekend’s matches could very well be a preview of the ITA team indoors, which Virginia will be hosting at the Boar’s Head Feb. 17-20 (the women’s ITAs take place next weekend at the club). Texas, Florida and Texas A&M all played their way into the event, which UVa will be looking to win for an unprecedented fifth straight year.

A big question heading into tonight (and the season) will be how Boland constructs his lineup. In the team’s season-opening win at South Florida on Jan. 22, he played Jenkins at No. 1, Domijan at No. 2 and Frank at No. 3 even though Frank is the No. 1-ranked player in the country.

“They’re unselfish and we’ll work through that situation,” said Boland, when asked about his lineup. “I’m certainly not concerned about that whatsoever. I’m proud of how each player has transitioned into the spring season and done what they can in the fall to prepare for the spring.

“Those things will take care of themselves.”

One thing worth keeping an eye on will be Domijan’s shoulder, which he had some issues with over the summer.

“It’s been feeling very good — I’d say since November,” said the 6-foot-8 hard-serving sophomore. “Each day has kind of been progress. I haven’t really been playing that well, but the last two weeks I feel I’ve gotten back to the way I was playing in the summer.”

Another player who is coming off injury is Drew Courtney. The senior co-captain could only play doubles at last season’s NCAA Tournament because of a foot issue. Courtney is slated to play in the No. 4 spot in the lineup and his resurgence could be a key to Virginia finally getting over the hump and winning its first NCAA title.

“He’s leaner than ever and has worked extremely hard in his physical fitness,” Boland said. “He’s hitting the ball well...he’s playing better than I’ve ever seen him play in his life right now.”

Boland, who lost program stalwarts Michael Shabaz and Sanam Singh from last year’s team, talks most excitedly about Jenkins, who had the best summer and fall of anybody and was voted a team co-captain.

“It’s one of those rewarding things — having a young man evolve over the years,” Boland said. “I remember when he was an emotional freshman who would easily get frustrated. He’s really become more and more professional each year and demanded more of himself, as well as from others around him.”

Jenkins says the main improvements he’s made to his game have been from the neck up.

“I’m starting to believe in myself more,” he said. “It’s been more of the mental stuff and getting myself to believe in myself at certain times and just working hard and putting good things inside my body.”

Domijan says he likes the team’s chances to be the final team standing this spring.

“I think USC is definitely the favorite, without a doubt, because they haven’t lost many people and have added a couple of players who are supposedly good,” he said. “I think we have to be able to think that we can beat them. Last season I don’t know think we really believed that. I think if we come together as a team, we can definitely pull it off.”