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April 20, 2000
23rd Annual ACC Championship
The Racquet Club of the South-Norcross, Ga.
April 20-23, 2000
The 1999-2000 Season: Virginia currently stands at 12-9 overall and 3-5 inthe ACC. The Cavaliers, ranked 52nd in the April 12 ITA Poll, are thesixth seed in the ACC Championship for the second year in a row.
UVa meets Clemson in the quarterfinals of the ACCs on Friday at9:00 a.m. The Tigers lead the all-time series 20-3. The winner faceseither #2 Duke or #7 Maryland on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in the semifinals.The finals are scheduled for Sunday at noon.
Virginia in the ACC Tournament: The Cavaliers are the sixth seed in thisyear’s ACC Tournament as a result of their sixth place finish and 3-5conference record in 2000. This is the fifth time and second consecutiveyear the Cavaliers have been the sixth seed in the ACC Tournament since thecurrent single-elimination format was introduced in 1990. Since 1990Virginia has won just one tournament match-a win over Wake Forest in the1993 quarterfinals. The Cavaliers have advanced to the finals twice (1978fall tournament, 1989) throughout the years under the old dual match formatthat was used through 1989, but they haven’t been since 1989.
Three Consecutive Winning Seasons: The Cavaliers are 12-9 this season(spring record of 10-8) and have equalled last season’s win total. In1998, the Cavaliers won 13 matches en route to a 13-10 record. This is thefirst time since 1991-94 that the Cavaliers have posted three consecutivewinning seasons. It is also the first time since then that they have won 10or matches in consecutive years (UVa won 12 in 1992, a school-record 18 in1993 and 12 in 1994).
Head Coach Phil Rogers Wins 200th Career Match : Phil Rogers, a 1971Virginia graduate, won the 200th match of his coaching career when hisCavaliers upset 37th-ranked North Carolina 6-3 on April 9 at the Boar’sHead Sports Club in Charlottesville.
Rogers is in his 18th season as Virginia’s head coach. He has led the Cavaliers to all five NCAA Tournament berths in schoolhistory, including bids in three of the last four seasons. The dean of ACChead coaches, Rogers is the fourth-winningest coach in ACC history with a201-174 (.536) record. He has guided the Cavaliers to 54 ACC wins, thethird-most in league history.
O’Donnell Receives ITA Ranking: Second-year Amy O’Donnell earned her firstITA ranking with a rating of No. 99 in the rankings released April 12.O’Donnell plays #1 singles for the Cavaliers and is 9-13 (3-5 in the ACC)in that slot. Overall, she is 16-16 in singles play in 1999-2000.
As a first-year in 1998-99, O’Donnell was UVa’s #3 player andregistered a 29-11 record. She fell just one win shy of Alison Cohen’s1992-93 rookie record of 30 singles victories.
Fabulous First-Years Take Two: Amy O’Donnell had a terrific rookie seasonlast year and a pair of UVa first-years have followed her footsteps.First-years Jennifer Tuchband and Henriette Williams have both hadexcellent freshman seasons. Tuchband has registered the team’s best singlesrecord at 23-10 (.697) and is 16-5 at #5 singles. Tuchband and third-yearKelly Weaver have also combined for a 17-8 doubles record. Tuchband is20-10 overall in doubles play. Classmate Henriette Williams has beenimpressive as well with a 19-12 singles record, including a veryrespectable 14-8 mark at #3 doubles.
Virginia vs. Clemson During the 2000 Regular Season: UVa, ranked 55th,fell to 35th-ranked Clemson 5-4 on April 2 in Clemson, S.C. The match wastied at 3-3 after singles play, but the Tigers won two of three doublesmatches to secure the 5-4 victory.
In singles, the ‘Hoos earned wins at the #1, #2 and #5 slots. At#1 singles, Amy O’Donnell’s opponent Carmina Giraldo retired with O’Donnellleading 3-0 in the first set. Christie Schweer was leading 6-2, 4-1 whenher opponent Cath Galvin retired. The Cavaliers’ third singles win came at#5 as Jennifer Tuchband posted a 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 come-from-behind victoryover Christina Oldock. At #3 singles, UVa’s Henriette Williams lost 6-3,6-1 to Renata Brito. UVa lost three-set matches at #4 and #6 singles.Leslie Cook lost to Clemson’s Laurence Jayet 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, while KellyWeaver fell to the Tigers’ Anna Savitskaya 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.
In doubles play, UVa was only able to win the #2 match. O’Donnelland Christine Kim teamed to defeat Savitskaya and Oldock 8-5. At #1doubles, Cook and Schweer lost to Brito and Jayet 8-3, while Tuchband andWeaver dropped an 8-6 decision to Ana Stiglic and Cynthia Clausen.
Five Players with 18 or More Victories: The Cavaliers have five playerswith 18 or more singles victories this season. Jennifer Tuchband and KellyWeaver, UVa’s #5 and #6 singles players, respectively, lead the team with23 wins apiece. Tuchband is 23-10, while Weaver is 23-13. HenrietteWilliams, the ‘Hoos #3 player, is third with 19 singles wins and stands at19-12 overall. Leslie Cook and Christie Schweer both have notched 18-16records. Cook plays #4 for UVa, while Schweer holds the #2 singles spot.
UVa vs. Ranked Teams: The Cavaliers are 3-8 this season vs. ITA rankedteams at the time the match was played. Five of the losses against rankedteams have come against ACC opponents. The Cavaliers’ three victories overranked teams have come against #16 North Carolina, #53 Harvard, and #75Virginia Tech.
Virginia is 10-1 against unranked teams this season. UVa’s loneloss to an unranked team was a 5-4 loss to Princeton in the finals of theECAC Team Tournament in October.
Neutral Site Equals Win: The Cavaliers are 4-0 in 1999-2000 in neutralsite matches. In the fall, UVa defeated Seton Hall and Dartmouth onneutral courts during the ECAC Team Tournament. UVa also beat Harvard andDartmouth on neutral sites during the spring.