UW title hinges on Virgina defeat

By Ben Miller

May 20, 2005, 12:00 AM

The Washington men's tennis team is playing for a shot to advance further in the NCAA Championships than in any other season in program history in College Station, Texas this weekend. The No. 15 seeded Huskies (20-4) are in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five years and play against No. 2 seeded Virginia (26-2) with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. "Everyone knows that this is the national championship and there is that much more riding on it," said coach Matt Anger said. "If we don't win the match, then the team portion of the season is over and no one wants that. They want to keep going." Last weekend, Virginia defeated Richmond 4-0 in the first round and Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4-2 in the second round to advance to the round of 16. The Cavaliers are currently riding on a 15-game winning streak, their last loss coming to an undefeated Baylor team that finished the season No. 1 on March 6. Five singles players and two doubles teams from the UVA squad are in the national rankings. Doug Stewart leads the way in singles at No. 12, followed by No. 30 Somdev Devvarman, No. 33 Rylan Rizza, No. 81 Darrin Cohen and No. 112 Marko Miklo. In doubles, Rizza and Nick Meythaler come in at No. 21 and Devvarman and Treat Huey are No. 39. Even with the stacked lineup, the Huskies will treat them the same as any other opponent they have faced this season. "We won't approach them any differently," Anger said. "Obviously their record is very good and they have been doing well from start to finish this year, but we are happy to be here, hoping that we can go out and play our best." Last weekend's 4-3 victory over Southern California and the ups and downs of the regular season have helped prepare Washington for this match. "We have come a long way in the last month and a half and all the matches are so close, especially in the conference," Anger said. "Our back has been to the wall and we are not really afraid if we are in that situation. We know we are going to fight hard and play hard until the end."

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