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DECEMBER 2017 21 "I think when you develop the human being and the physical and emotional skills someone needs to have a positive life, you have a better chance of developing a world- class tennis player, especially considering the caliber of recruits coming to Virginia. "I have to make sure these kids are pre- pared for life. That's how you get an encore, by making sure these kids are prepared for every aspect of their existence." Pedroso isn't exactly a stranger to Vir- ginia tennis. From 2010-14, he was an as- sociate head coach before moving to South Florida, where he coached privately. Not surprisingly, the former two-time All- American at Duke didn't decide to return to Virginia on a mere whim. "This always has been a special place for me," he said. "What's been the biggest at- traction is what Coach Boland built plus the community. It's a special network. "Players are a huge asset that our program has. I think one of the things I did when I went to South Florida was stay in touch with people because they were supportive of me." In one sense, Boland could be the tennis equivalent of iconic UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden, who guided the Bruins to a record 10 NCAA championships. But after Wooden retired, the first four coaches who succeeded him resigned due in large part because they couldn't handle the pres- sure or come close to duplicating what Wooden accomplished. As far as Pedroso is concerned, pressure isn't a word in his vocabulary. "I see this job as a blessing and an honor more than a responsibility to succeed coach Boland," Pedroso said. "I know I'm always going to do the right thing and be there for my players. "I'm not going to be a coach for them; I'm going to be a mentor for them and teach them about life. "If I get wrapped up in national titles, I'm going to make this job harder than it already is. What's going to fulfill me is to make sure these kids are ready for life. It's taken me a while to get to this point, but I feel I am there as a coach and a mentor." Since Pedroso is a first-time head coach plus the director of tennis, a case could be made that he's inherited myriad responsibil- ities that weren't part of his job description as the associate head coach. And one of his first — if not his first — responsibilities was to hire a women's head coach. "First of all, I hired an incredible partner in this project in Sara O'Leary [who was David- son's head coach for the previous three sea- sons]," Pedroso explained. "She's doing an unbelievable job with the women's program. "I was looking for somebody who was going to care about the women as people rather than tennis players. I was looking for someone who was going to make a personal investment in their Virginia experience — specifically academics, tennis and life. "Walking into a role like this presents me with a number of incredible opportunities." In Pedroso's order of importance, his "in- credible opportunities" are as follows: • Being director of tennis places him in a program where he has plenty or resources so that both programs are at the top of col- lege tennis. • He's in a position to build a culture with the men's and women's programs of cama- raderie, friendship and collaboration. • This role puts Pedroso in a position to continue the process of fundraising and building Virginia's new outdoor tennis com- plex at the Boars Head Tennis Complex. Pedroso will be coaching a very young men's team — one that's comprised of six first-years, one redshirt first-year, one second-year, one third-year and one fourth- year. Although there is no substitute for experi- ence, Pedroso knows what he needs to do to insure that Virginia remains at or near the top rung of the collegiate tennis ladder. "I think, at the end of the day, it's about people and bringing the right people into the program and surrounding those student- athletes with the right people in Charlot- tesville and the Virginia program," he said. "If I continue to do that like Brian did, I don't see any reason why our success won't continue." Over the course of eight seasons as a player at Duke and four as a coach at Vir- ginia, Pedrosos has never been associated with a men's squad that's lost a team match against an ACC opponent. As far as Pedroso is concerned, continuing that streak is argu- ably the last thing on his mind. "This is all about teaching these kids how to prepare, teaching them how to compete and learning to live with the results whether we win or lose," he said. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association expects the Cavalier women to win. Three individuals were ranked in the preseason top 125, released Sept. 12, led by No. 34 Rosie Johanson, a second-year. Fourth-year Cassie Mercer checked in at No. 74, while third- year Meghan Kelley was No. 124. Second- year Chloe Gullickson and Mercer were listed No. 18 nationally as a doubles team. "To be honest with you, I'm not focused on them living up to anything," Pedroso said while deftly avoiding making any predic- tions. "I want them to give full effort and work as a team on a daily basis. "They've put in a tremendous amount of work, both on and off the court. I know they have spent hours of quality time together, getting to know each other, relating to each other and building that confidence in one another. "I know what it's taken to win here and I'm looking forward to transitioning a lot of that toward the women's program." On a more personal note, Pedroso is ec- static about the opportunity to return to Vir- ginia with his wife, Erika, plus sons Felix and Christian. "What a blessing we believe it is to live in Charlottesville and how enjoyable a time we're having in our first few months here," he said. "We really appreciate all the sup- port we've received in our transition." DIRECTING A DYNASTY Andres Pedroso Takes Over The Dominant Men's Tennis Program And Will Also Assist The Women In His New Role