/
.
Virginia Prepares for ACC Tournament
Story Links
April 21, 1999
Cavaliers Face Demon Deacons Again: Virginia faces Wake Forest in thequarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. This is the secondtime in less than a week that the two teams have met. The Cavaliersdefeated the Demon Deacons 6-1 last Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C. TheCavaliers won the doubles point as Huntley Montgomery and Brian Vahaly,ranked 23rd nationally, scored an upset over #14 Myles Clouston and RaulMunoz at #1. Vahaly was one of three Cavaliers to win come-from-behindthree-set matches as the Cavaliers won five of six singles matches.
The winner faces either #1 Duke, #8 N.C. State or #9 Maryland(depending on Thursday and Friday’s results) on Saturday at 2 p.m. Thefinals are scheduled for Sunday at noon.
Cavaliers Playing Well Coming into ACC Tournament: After a less thansatisfying spring break trip to Florida in March, the Cavaliers haveregrouped and are playing some of their best tennis of the year going intothe ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers have won six of their last nine matches,but two of the losses were tough 4-3 decisions that came down to the finalsingles match. Virginia is 13-8 overall this season, but the record issomewhat deceiving. Prior to last weekend’s 5-2 loss at third-ranked Duke,the Cavaliers’ last three losses had been by a 4-3 count. Of Virginia’seight losses, three have been top teams ranked in the top 10 at match time.The men in orange and blue have had two three-match winning streaks in thelast month and feature impressive wins over North Carolina (5-2), VirginiaTech (5-2), Wake Forest (6-1) and William & Mary (6-0).
Fourth Consecutive Upper Division ACC Finish: After a down period earlierthis decade that saw them finish sixth or worse for three straight seasons,the Cavaliers have made a progressive rise up the ACC ladder. This seasonthe Cavaliers finished with a 4-4 record in ACC play and are the fourthseed in this weekend’s ACC Tournament. This season marks the fourth seasonin a row that Virginia has finished at .500 or better in the league, thefirst time that’s happened since 1969-74. The period from 1969-74 alsomarks the last time until this season that the Cavaliers have finished inthe top half of the league for three consecutive seasons.
Head Coach Dick Stockton: Dick Stockton makes his head coaching debut thisseason with the Cavaliers, aiming to continue UVa’s rise to the elite ranksof collegiate tennis. No stranger to high level tennis, Stockton bringsmore than two decades of professional tennis playing experience toCharlottesville. One of the top singles and doubles players in the worldduring his career, Stockton has reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and theFrench Open and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. He is a five-timemember of the U.S. Davis Cup team, including the championship squad in1979. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, he continued to earn many prestigioushonors, including winning titles at the U.S. Open 45-and-over doubleschampionship in 1996 and the Wimbledon 45-and-over doubles championship in1997.
Stockton has guided the Cavaliers to a 13-8 record this season,including a 4-4 mark in ACC play. His 13 wins in his first year as headcoach are fifth-most by a first-year coach in school history. John Murrayguided UVa to a record 18 wins in his first year in 1990.
Virginia in the ACC Tournament: The Cavaliers are the fourth seed in thisseason’s ACC Tournament. They were the third seed in the previous twoseasons. (The current ACC Tournament format began in 1990.) Last season theCavaliers reached the tournament finals for the first time. They defeatedWake Forest 4-2 in the quarterfinals, North Carolina 4-2 in the semifinalsbefore falling to top-seeded Duke 4-2 in the finals.
Virginia has advanced to the semifinals five times (1990, ’94, ’96,’97, ’98), including the last three years.
Three With 20+ Wins: For the fifth consecutive season, three Cavaliers havewon at least 20 matches. Brian Vahaly and Hyon Yoo are currently tied forthe team lead with 26 victories apiece. Yoo, who led the team in wins lastseason, needs two more to tie his career high set last season. Vahaly,ranked 14th nationally, has already exceeded his win total of last season(21). Tommy Croker, Virginia’s #5 player, has 20 wins, including ateam-best 7-1 record in ACC matches.
Croker, Winter ACC Champs: For the second year in a row Virginia featuresthe ACC champion at #5 singles and #2 doubles. Sophomore Tommy Croker is adouble champion-the first player in school history to be an ACC champion inboth singles and doubles in the same season. Croker has come on strong thisspring, compiling a 15-5 dual match record with wins in nine of his last 10matches. He had a 7-1 ACC record, including a perfect 6-0 mark at #5, andwon his last six matches vs. ACC opponents. He teamed with John Winter at#2 doubles this season as they proved to be one of the hottest duos in theconference. They did not play together until the spring, but have compileda gaudy 14-2 doubles record, including a 6-1 league mark, at #2. They had a12-match winning streak stopped by Duke last weekend.
Sophs Dot Cavalier Line-Up: Virginia’s line-up features four sophomores inthe top six in what might be one of the youngest line-ups in the nation.Brian Vahaly (from Atlanta) plays #1, Huntley Montgomery at #2, TommyCroker at #5 and Brian Hunter at #6. Vahaly, last season’s ACC Rookie ofthe Year, has played #1 since last season, while Montgomery mans the #2position for the second year in a row. Croker moved up from the #6 spot ofa year ago, while Hunter saw limited action last spring. Hyon Yoo plays #4and is the team’s lone senior in the starting line-up. Junior co-captainJohn Winter, moved to #3 this season from #5 last spring.
Doubles Play Gets Early Lead: Virginia features four outstanding doublesunits that have shown throughout the spring the ability to put pressure onthe opposition. In 21 dual matches this spring, Virginia has claimed thedoubles point 18 times, including a streak of 12 consecutive matches thatended last weekend against third-ranked Duke. Huntley Montgomery and BrianVahaly form UVa’s top tandem. They are 13-8 this season and are currentlyranked 22nd nationally. Tommy Croker and John Winter have manned the #2position all season and have been fabulous, posting a 14-2 record thatincludes a 12-match winning streak. Brian Hunter and Hyon Yoo have quietlyrolled to a 10-3 overall record as UVa’s #3 squad, winning seven of theirlast eight matches.