UVA wins ITA Indoor National title

The last time Virginia’s men’s tennis team played for the national indoor championship and lost, Coach Brian Boland handed over the duties of collecting the runners-up trophy to a team aide. Boland wanted no part of being No. 2.

On Monday afternoon in Seattle, Boland didn’t have to look for a substitute.

The Cavaliers, behind the nation’s No. 1 ranked singles player, a pair of sensational freshmen, and the grit of senior Treat Huey, captured the program’s first national team tennis title with a 4-1 triumph over Ohio State.

“I’m thrilled because there’s nothing like winning a national championship,” Boland told The Daily Progress. “I’m really proud of this team. This is one of the highlights of Virginia tennis history.”

After capturing the all important doubles point on the strength of freshmen Michael Shabaz and Sanam Singh, the singles clincher came down to Huey’s match with the Cavaliers leading 3-1.

Huey, ranked No. 12 nationally, had won the first set by a 7-5 count over the Buckeyes’ Bryan Koniecko (ranked No. 85). But Koniecko took the UVa co-captain to a tiebreaker in the second. The Alexandria native had a match point opportunity at 6-5 in the breaker but failed to convert. Still, he fought off Koniecko’s two set points at 7-6 and 8-7 in the breaker, and then knotted it at 8-8 when the Buckeye double-faulted.

Huey served for the match and the championship at 9-8 and sent the Cavalier team into delirium when Koniecko’s forehand sailed long.

After having come close to claiming crowns in both indoor and outdoor but coming up short, Boland was like a man possessed when he realized his Cavaliers were the champs.

“You would have to ask the people who watched the match what I did because I was so wrapped up in coaching Treat in the match that I have no idea what I did after it ended,” said an excited Boland. “I just don’t remember, but I have been told by several sources that I jumped on Treat. Somdev [Devvarman] told me it was the biggest jump he had ever seen.”

Witnesses said that Boland immediately sprinted to the middle of the court, hugging sophomore Houston Barrick, near the net, then Huey, then anyone else within reach.

Normally, Boland sticks by Devvarman’s match until it is completed, while associate head coach Tony Bresky roams through the other matches. Because Devvarman, the nation’s top-ranked singles player and defending national outdoors champion, had already won his match in straight sets over Ohio State’s Justin Kronauge, Boland moved over to coach Huey through his match.

“I wouldn’t have wanted anybody else in that moment to clinch the match for us other than Treat,” Boland said after watching Virginia become the first team in ACC history to win a national tennis championship. “It was so fitting that it was Treat that clinched it for us because he had been struggling all weekend. He perservered and came through in the clutch. For Treat to pull that out, it tells you a lot about what kind of character he has and what kind of player he is.”

Huey had indeed struggled at the National Team Indoors played at Nordstrom Tennis Center on the University of Washington campus. He had lost his singles matches in both the quarterfinals to UCLA and in the semifinals against Mississippi.

“We talked to [Huey] about doing some things that had made him a great tennis player, about going back to the basics and not worrying about what his opponent was doing,” Boland said. “He was very crafty and focused on the things he does so well. He used his big serve and his hands to pull it out.”

With Devvarman having locked up his 13th consecutive singles win this season and his 18th straight going back to last season, and freshman Singh topping Shuhei Uzawa in straight sets at the No. 4 singles spot, the Cavs held a 3-0 lead before the Buckeyes bounced back. OSU’s Steven Moneke defeated UVa’s Dominic Inglot, 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 2 singles match.

Virginia’s Barrick was up 2-1 in his third set at No. 5, while Ted Angelinos was knotted at 6-6 in his second set after having taken the first set 6-4.

So, it was up to Huey to clinch the title.

Boland said the key to the match was winning the doubles point and that’s what his team did after losing it in the quarters to UCLA and struggling to win it in the semis over Ole Miss.

Devvarman and Huey, the nation’s top-ranked doubles team, bolted to a 6-2 lead and fought off a Buckeye rally for an 8-5 win in the No. 1 doubles match. Barrick and Inglot had a chance to clinch the doubles point in the No. 2 match, but lost 8-6 in a tiebreaker, leaving it up to the freshmen, Shabaz and Singh.

“The doubles point was critical and for the second day in a row these freshmen pulled out the No. 3 doubles match for us,” Boland said. “I have to give them a lot of credit. We need that, particularly today. We talked about it and I do believe it made a difference.”

Shabaz, from Fairfax, and Singh, of Chandigarh, India, battled OSU’s Steven Moneke and Bryan Koniecko to a 3-3 count at the changeover, but went up a mini-break at 4-3, then held on the next two points to hold a 6-3 advantage before clinching the doubles point.

The two have become accustomed to playing close matches with six of their 10 contests having gone to tiebreakers. The rookies are 3-3 in those matches.

“There is nothing more gratifying than this,” Boland said. “I have the same feeling as when Somdev won the [national outdoors singles] title last year. I’m so excited for the program and all the individuals. The guys executed when we needed them to. It’s not easy winning a national championship at this level with the incredible depth in the sport. These guys deserve tremendous credit.”

No sooner had the coach talked about clinching UVa’s first title than he begin focusing on the next, the outdoor crown.

“This is step one,” Boland said. “We have a lot of work to do. We can still improve so much during the rest of the season. Our schedule doesn’t necessarily get any easier with teams like Texas and Baylor, but we’re excited because we have a lot of momentum now and lots of time to improve.”

Fans can see the newly crowned champions this weekend when the Cavaliers host a doubleheader at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club on Saturday, facing Old Dominion at 1 p.m. and Boston College in the ACC opener at 6 p.m. (free admission to both).