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The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team hosts a pair of matches against ACC foes this weekend at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers meet Clemson on Friday at 2 p.m. and Georgia Tech on Sunday at noon. VirginiaSports.com caught up with junior Houston Barrick to recap last week’s win at Texas, the upcoming matches and the team’s undefeated start to the season.
Question: Last week you had a big 4-3 win at No. 10 Texas. You played a key role in the victory with wins in singles and doubles. What was the key to that match?
Barrick: It was a fun match overall. That’s what college tennis should be. Both teams competed hard and everything was clean and fair. It was two great teams going against each other. My matches were tough. In singles, I played Miguel Reyes Varela. He is a senior and used to play No. 1 a few years ago. He is a veteran and played well. I played a tough second set and was able to get to a third. From there, I was able to get the win. It was a little weird playing singles first (because of a weather delay). In doubles, Sanam (Singh) and I played a great match. We were coming off a loss to ODU and our confidence was a little down. But we got back to work in practice and it paid off. Ed Corrie and Kellen Damico are a great team and we were able to pull out a win and clinch the match.
Question: You first teamed with Sanam in doubles last year and were in and out of the lineup at No. 3. This year, you are playing No. 1 and ranked in the top five nationally. What has been the difference between your play this year and last in doubles?
Barrick: We have more time as a team to play together. Last year, we got started late. We were fighting time. We started playing together towards the end of the regular season and were still learning to be a team. This year we had all fall and all spring. The more chances you get to play with someone, the better team you will be. That has been the biggest thing.
Question: The team got through the non-conference schedule undefeated and is No. 1 in the nation. It is the same place you were at this time last year. Does the undefeated start feel the same as last year’s, or is there a difference?
Barrick: It has been a lot different. Last year, I felt like we had this giant target on our back for the whole season. This year, we played well at National Indoors, won it, and moved up to No. 1. This team probably isn’t as talented as last year’s, but this team has so much heart and has worked so hard. We have been in kind of an attack mode all season, where last year we kind of were defending our ranking.
Question: This weekend starts the main part of the ACC season this weekend. How important is it for this team to continue the dominance in the conference that you have established over the past few seasons?
Barrick: It is huge. The ACC is a strong conference each and every year. It is very important for us to get two more wins this weekend against Clemson and Georgia Tech. We will be outside, hopefully the weather is nice and fans will come out and see us. We now have to adjust from playing great non-conference matches against teams like Texas to playing against ACC teams that are big rivals. We know they will be ready to play their best against us.
Question: You mentioned that this season seemed different because you didn’t have the target on your back all season long. In the ACC, you have had that target for the past five years. Does your mentality change now that you are out of the non-conference portion of the schedule and into league play?
Barrick: It is little different. We have been at the top for the past few years. This year it is going to be the same. Teams are going to go after the team that is the defending champ and we just have to be ready for teams to play their best against us. That’s what we are expecting from Clemson and Georgia Tech this weekend.
Question: This is the first weekend that you will be home during the outdoor portion of the season. How excited are you to get back to playing at Snyder?
Barrick: It is always nice to come home and play. We are coming off a long trip and it will be nice to play in front of our fans this weekend. We played ODU last week at Snyder, but it was a cold Tuesday afternoon and there wasn’t a big crowd. We have always had big crowds for the weekend matches at Snyder and looking forward to these matches this weekend.