Virginia No. 5 in ITA Preseason Rankings

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CHARLOTTESVILLE The Virginia men’s tennis team is ranked No. 5 in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released Tuesday. It marks the fifth consecutive season that the Cavaliers have opened the year in the top 10.

The Cavaliers, who led all schools with six players ranked in the preseason singles rankings, are behind No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 UCLA in the team rankings. USC, Baylor, Tennessee, Mississippi and Florida round out the top 10.

Leading the six Cavaliers in the singles rankings is sophomore Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.), who is a career-high No. 11. In the fall, Shabaz reached the quarterfinals of the ITA All-America Championships in addition to the finals of both the UVa Fall Invitational and the UVa Ranked Plus One Invitational. Sophomore Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) is ranked a career-high No. 24. Singh won flight titles at both the UVa Fall Invitational and UVa Ranked Plus One Invitational and reached the round of 16 of the ITA National Indoor Championships. Senior Dominic Inglot (London, England) is ranked No. 43 after winning the ITA Mideast Region Championship for the second consecutive year. Junior Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) is a career-high No. 69 after posting a 13-4 record in the fall. Freshman Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) and junior Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) both earned their first career rankings, at No. 109 and No. 110 respectively.

In doubles, the Cavaliers have a pair of teams ranked. Singh and Barrick are No. 3 after a fall highlighted by winning the ITA Mideast Regional title. Inglot and Shabaz are No. 27 in the latest rankings.

The Cavaliers open the 2009 season on Jan. 20 as they visit No. 64 William & Mary. Virginia opens its home season on Jan. 23 when it hosts No. 15 Illinois at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.