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CHARLOTTESVILLE Virginia leads the nation in total attendance for the first two months of the 2008 men’s tennis season, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Friday. The Cavaliers have had 4,208 fans attend the first eight home matches this season to lead the inaugural ITA Attendance Race.
“We are honored to be ranked No.1 in the ITA attendance race,” said head coach Brian Boland. “We believe we have the best fans in college tennis and we really appreciate the support they consistently provide to the team. We also really appreciate the athletic administration, beginning with Todd Goodale and Devin Crosby in Marketing and Promotions, for their tireless effort to create our fan base. We very much appreciate the support of our fans and strongly believe it gives us a great boost during our matches.”
The Cavaliers have drawn over 1,000 more fans than any other school this season. Tulsa, which hosts this year’s NCAA Championships, ranks second in the ITA Attendance Race with 3,025. Illinois (2,537), Washington (2,309), and Michigan (1,632) round out the top five.
Virginia’s average of 526 per match ranks second, trailing Illinois, which is averaging 635 per match.
The Cavaliers have played in front of four of the five largest crowds this year in men’s tennis. The largest single-match crowd this season is the 1,231 that saw Virginia’s 4-3 win at Illinois on Jan. 25. The Boyd Tinsley Courts record crowd of 983 for the Cavaliers’ 5-2 win over Texas on Feb. 29 is the second largest crowd this season. Virginia also had the third and fifth larges crowds of the season with 716 for the Kentucky match on Feb. 8 and 625 for the Old Dominion match on Feb. 23.
Virginia is 8-0 this season at home and has won a school-record 25 consecutive home matches dating back to the 2006 season.