Cavalier Corner

T BY MIKE SCANDURA HE VIRGINIA MEN'S tennis team may have fallen short of its ulti- mate goal this season, but there is no denying the high level of suc- cess the program has maintained in recent years. During Brian Boland's tenure as head coach, the Cavaliers have won seven ACC Tournament titles; captured eight ACC regular-season crowns; reached the NCAA semifinals four times and the round of 16 eight consecutive times; posted three MEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR undefeated regular seasons and nine consecutive 20-win seasons, including 2012 when second- ranked UVa was 29-2 and lost in the NCAA final to USC; claimed four ITA National Team Indoor Championships; and produced 24 ITA All-Ameri- cans and 33 All-ACC selections. "I believe as a coach it's one thing to build a program and another to remain consistent at the highest level year after year," said Boland, whose 2012 squad breezed through the regular season, the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Champion- ships until it was halted by the Trojans en route to Cavalier Corner's Men's Team of the Year honors. "In order to build a program and maintain con- sistency, I believe as a coach you must continue to learn and make adjustments throughout your career," the coach continued. "The biggest ad- vantage I have is I strongly believe I coach at the greatest university on Earth. "It provides me the opportunity to bring young men on campus and provide them the best athleti- cally, academically and socially." From an athletic standpoint, four Cavaliers were named ITA All-Americans: Alex Domijan, Mitchell Frank and Jarmere Jenkins in singles, plus Jenkins and Drew Courtney in doubles. Frank typified the Cavaliers' classroom acumen by being named an Academic All-American. The fact UVa was so successful again this sea- son wasn't just because of the play of the afore- mentioned Cavaliers. Or as former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver once said of his team, "We have deep depth." "I believe the only way to build a program and maintain consistency is to build from the bottom up and not from the top down," Boland said. "The reason I believe in that philosophy is that you have to be determined and willing as a coaching staff to develop players. "The players that are going to make it to the top of your team are those playing from the middle up. "Most of our players start between three and six instead of one and two. There are few exceptions to that rule at Virginia." Given Boland's accomplishments, who's to argue? "As a coach, when you can get consistency out of your players, like this past year, that's a key ingre- dient you like to have," he said. "Jenkins' growth along with that of Frank was a huge part of our success this season." Another "huge part" of UVa's success was Courtney, who was 22-5 in singles play and 19-8 in doubles action. "One thing that really stood out was the adver- sity Drew Courtney faced when he broke a foot in the round of 32 in 2011," Boland said. "He was one of our starters and we went on to lose in the NCAA finals. "During the summer of 2011 and leading up to this spring, Drew was out of tennis and only was able to play one match, in late 2011. He wasn't able to train and do the necessary things for a high-level player." At face value, that would indicate Courtney CAVALIER CORNER ◆ AUGUST 2012 ◆ 29

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