Story Links
April 1, 2003
Leading the Way
By Jim Reedy
They’re not kids, those teammates Michael Duquette deals with on a daily basis, but they are very young. All 12 of them are freshmen or sophomores. Nine players are in their first year at Virginia. None of them have much, if any, experience in college tennis.
So when Duquette took over as the senior captain this season, he assumed a leadership role far more significant than the “lead by example” responsibilities that usually fall to the best player on the team. He ended up as almost another assistant coach, helping his rookie teammates get used to UVa and the Virginia tennis program.
“Coming into this year, I was a little nervous about being in that position,” Duquette said. “It’s very hard at times, but for the most part, I take the responsibility as a positive one. It’s tough to keep them in line because there are so many of them; but it’s been a positive fall semester. I’m really looking forward to the spring season.”
Duquette seems to have thrived in the role. Brian Boland, Virginia’s second-year coach, calls the 21-year old Virginia Beach native “without question, one of the best leaders on any team in the country.” That sounded about right to freshman Mike Downing, who has known Duquette since playing with him for two years at Norfolk Academy.
“He helps with pretty much everything,” Downing said, “from getting around to telling us what classes to take to the on-the-court stuff. You can call him up and ask him questions any time.”
Duquette’s skills on the court would make him a welcome addition to most college tennis programs; he is Virginia’s No. 1 singles player, a nationally ranked doubles player and might give professional tennis a shot after graduation. Yet he is even more valuable to the Cavaliers because Boland is rebuilding the program with youngsters, including a highly touted group of eight freshmen.
“If I did not have the level of leadership that Mike is able to provide, our program would take several more years to get where we want to be,” Boland said.
In the midst of all this it could be easy to forget that Duquette plays some pretty good tennis as well. He certainly has the genes for athletic greatness. His father, Tom, was one of the best players in Virginia lacrosse history, a four-time all-American who won an NCAA championship in 1972 and was inducted last year into the national lacrosse hall of fame.
Unlike his father, Michael was not a runaway success in his first three college seasons. He fought for playing time at the bottom of the Virginia lineup as a freshman in the spring of 2000, then ascended to the No. 4 spot as a sophomore. Thanks in part to the tutelage of veterans such as Brian Vahaly and Huntley Montgomery-and in no small part to the graduation of said veterans- Duquette took over last season as the Cavaliers’ top singles player.
The transition was a bumpy one at times, as Duquette posted a 14-20 singles record, including an 0-6 mark against ACC opponents.
“Making the adjustment from four to one is tough,” he said, “because tennis is a sport where any team you play, regardless of where in the country it is, they’re going to have a very solid No. 1 player. Within the ACC, you had a lot of guys who were in the top 50 in the country.”
Duquette also had to adjust last year to a new coach, as Boland replaced Dick Stockton. But he settled in eventually and by the end of the season started to feel he belonged on the court with other top players. Though his career record- 35-39 in singles and 35-35 in doubles- is still not where he wants to be, Duquette has played better than ever this fall. He and Boland anticipate that that energy will carry over into the spring season.
“Mike has improved more in the past 12 months than probably anybody that I’ve seen in many years,” Boland said. “He’s one of the most gifted athletes that I’ll probably ever coach.”
Like many of his senior classmates at Virginia, Duquette hasn’t quite figured out what he’ll do after graduation. He’s on track to graduate with a 3.13 grade point average and a degree in government. He’s thinking strongly of following Vahaly, his former teammate, into pro tennis.
“This year I’ve improved a lot, so really more and more I’m convincing myself that’s an option,” Duquette said. “Before this year, if you’d asked me over the summer, I wouldn’t have thought that.”
If that doesn’t work out, he might follow the example set by his parents, both Virginia alumni.
“I enjoy teaching. I’d like to get my Master’s and look to teach and coach on a high school level,” he said.
He’ll be getting plenty of practice this season.