High Tales of 2022: Virginia Wins 23 Straight to Declare NCAA Championship

TEMPE, AZ. – The 2022 dual-match season for the Virginia Cavaliers was certainly one of many trials and tribulations. Nonetheless, after they had been wanted probably the most, this Virginia crew knew what it took to win and rallied off 23 straight wins on their approach to the 2022 NCAA Males’s Nationwide Championship.

Starting the spring with excessive expectations because the No. 7 ranked crew within the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Level, the Cavaliers got here into 2022 with a really skilled crew that they must lean on in the event that they wished to achieve success.

After starting with an ideal 5-0 report and berth into the ITA Nationwide Crew Indoor Championship, Virginia shortly confronted its hardest stretch of the season, shedding 5 straight matches to go away gamers and coaches questioning what wanted to be modified.

Dealing with Ohio State (1), Baylor (3), Florida (5), and TCU (4) twice over this four-match slide, the Cavaliers had been crushed down match after match and didn’t present early on that they’d what it took to hold with the nations finest.

Then within the Feb. 23 ITA Collegiate Tennis Crew Rankings, Virginia took a giant dive, dropping from No. 7 to No. 17 because the Cavaliers struggled to remain above .500 on the season.

Selecting up a win over Washington of their remaining match on the ITA Nationwide Crew Indoor Championships to finish their five-match slide, Pedroso knew now was the time to rally his gamers because it was evident that one thing wanted to alter if Virginia wished to salvage one thing out of this season.

Heading into ACC play, Pedroso made some tweaks to each his singles and doubles lineup which instantly made an impression on the crew’s efficiency.

Taking up convention powerhouses Duke and North Carolina on the highway to start convention play, the Cavaliers shortly made a press release that these early season losses had been behind them, beating Duke 4-0 and taking down North Carolina 4-2 to start 2-0 in ACC play.

Now with some momentum behind them, Virginia would finish the common season by successful 14 consecutive matches and would clinch the No. 1 seed within the ACC Match to finish the entire transformation of a crew who was as soon as 5-5 to begin the season.

Discovering their manner again into the High-Ten of the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, Virginia made fast work of Florida State in Louisville within the first two rounds of the ACC Championship earlier than going through North Carolina within the Finals which proved to be a battle of two heavyweights.

After dropping the doubles level to the Tar Heels, Virginia knew it wanted to win a minimum of 4 singles matches in an effort to clinch its second consecutive ACC Championship and its 14th Championship in program historical past.

Dropping the primary set from 4 spots within the lineup, the Cavaliers hopes had been trying dim till fifth-year participant Gianni Ross was capable of choose up some extent from the No. 6 place to stage the rating at 1-1 between the 2 groups.

Shortly after the purpose from Ross, Virginia picked up factors from the No. 3 and No. 4 place to take the temporary 3-1 benefit earlier than the Tar Heels fought proper again successful from the No. 1 and No. 5 positions to stage the match at 3-3.

With the destiny of the match now resting on the No. 2 place, sophomore Inaki Montes pulled via when the lights had been the brightest beating Benjamin Sigouin 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) to clinch the victory and the ACC Championship.

Having now received 17 consecutive matches, the Cavaliers entered the 2022 NCAA Nationwide Match because the No. 7 seeded crew within the nation as they nonetheless had a lot to show in the event that they wished to point out they might compete with the nation’s finest.

Making fast work of Fairleigh Dickerson and Virginia Commonwealth within the Regional, Virginia would then face tenth-seeded South Carolina within the Tremendous Regional the place they didn’t decelerate, successful 4-0 to punch their ticket to Champaign, IL for the Nationwide Quarterfinals.

Squaring off with a well-known foe and the No. 2 seeded crew in Florida, Virginia was trying to avenge certainly one of their 5 earlier losses on the yr when the Gators bested them 4-2 on the ITA Nationwide Crew Indoor Championships.

Beginning the match off with large wins from the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions, Virginia would head into singles with a 1-0 benefit over the Gators and wouldn’t look again, successful from the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 singles positions to win the match and advance to the Semifinals.

Now set for a date with No. 6 Tennessee, the Cavaliers dominated in each facet of the match and shortly confirmed that they had been a completely totally different crew from the one who began the season 5-5, incomes their spot into the NCAA Nationwide Championship the place they might face No. 8 Kentucky.

In virtually a picture-perfect replay from their Semifinal match, Virginia was as soon as once more firing on all cylinders within the Nationwide Championship capping off this storied season with a 4-0 victory and this system’s fifth NCAA Nationwide Championship of all time.

For head coach Andres Pedroso, this Nationwide Championship marked his first on the helm of the Cavaliers as his teaching and lineup adjustments helped lead Virginia to 23 straight wins to finish the season in any case regarded misplaced to start the yr.