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The bottom half of the lineup's success made up for the fact that Shane didn't pick up any wins, while Altamirano had just one. "We knew the whole year that everyone's top of the lineup is so tough," Aragone said. "Even the worst team in the country has a good No. 1, so at the 1 and 2 spots you never know. "Henrik and I always joke. We call our- selves the dynamic duo — I'm Mario, he's Luigi. We're always there, backing each other and know that if the other can't pull through one day, the other will. And then when we're both on, it's very hard to beat Virginia because the bottom of the lineup is just so strong." Ritschard's return from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the entire regular season and the ACC Tournament was another big factor. It allowed Boland to push Aragone and Wiersholm back a spot in the lineup where they were even more effective. "I knew all along that if I was in any shape or way capable of playing in this tournament, I definitely would," Ritschard said. "I went in with the mindset of, 'I haven't played in five months and I'm probably not playing as great as I did before, but I'll just do the best I can to survive and kind of push the guys.'" Kwiatkowski, who was a force in singles and doubles, was named the Most Outstand- ing Player of the tournament. Virginia won all six doubles points in the tournament and 25 of 30 on the season. Even though Shane struggled down the stretch, Boland was ex- tremely proud of him. "For Ryan to come back the way he did and have to face the expectations of always having a target on his back — it was great for him, but also extremely hard," Boland said. "I just have so much re- spect for him, not only as a player but more importantly the charac- ter that he has. "He's just an amaz- ing human being, and I just feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to coach Ryan. He's a great leader. There's nothing more enjoyable as a coach to work with someone of his caliber and level of character." With Virginia only losing Shane and Mac Styslinger from the championship squad, there has already been talk of a "three-peat." "It's hard work," Ritschard said, "but I'm sure we'll have a chance to do it again." Meanwhile, Wiersholm will need a new hat. "It's probably somewhere there in Tulsa," he said, smiling. ◆