The Virginia tennis teams learned their draws for the upcoming NCAA Tournament on Monday. Both will host matches to begin their postseason quest for a National Championship. It is the third straight year that both teams are hosting the opening rounds.
The men’s team received the No. 5 overall seed. The Cavaliers face Navy in the second match on Saturday at the Boar’s Head Resort courts. The winner there will take on the winner of Mississippi and VCU from the first match of the day.
UVA has won five NCAA titles, including last year’s crown as the No. 7 seed in the field. The Hoos have appeared in 19 straight tournaments.
On the women’s side, Virginia is making its fifth straight appearance in the field. The Cavaliers are the No. 12 seed and they will host Long Island University on Friday in the second match of the day. That will be a rematch of the 2021 tournament opener between the two teams that UVA won 4-0. The winner there takes on the winner of Princeton and Fordham, who play first on Friday.
After the first two rounds of play this weekend, 16 teams advance to Super Regionals that are held at the higher seed. The Virginia men’s team would host that round if it advanced, while the women would be on the road unless fifth-seeded Michigan falls during the opening weekend.
Singles and doubles selections for the NCAA Individual Championships will be announced Tuesday.
Virginia Men’s Tennis Receives All-ACC Recognition
The UVA men’s tennis team landed four players on the All-ACC list released on Monday.
Junior Chris Rodesch received first-team recognition after finishing 9-1 in singles in conference play. He had a 15-1 record overall playing at the No. 1 singles spot. Rodesch, who made the first team for the second time, earned ACC Tournament MVP honors as well.
Junior Inaki Montes took second team honors, while Jeffrey von der Schulenburg picked up a spot on the third team. Montes recorded a 17-7 record in singles with only one match lost in ACC play. He was the ACC Player of the Year last season. Von der Schulenburg posted a 21-4 record overall this season with a 9-2 mark in ACC competition. He is a three-time All-ACC recipient (first team 2021, second team 2022, third team 2023).
Montes and Ryan Goetz were named to the All-ACC First Team in doubles as well. The duo had a 9-1 record in double in ACC play and were the conference’s top ranked team heading into the ACC Tournament at No. 9 nationally.
Virginia Women’s Golfers Earn All-ACC Spots
A pair of Virginia women’s golfers repeated on the All-ACC team this season. Sophomore Amanda Sambach and junior Jennifer Cleary both made the team in 2022 as well.
Sambach led the Cavaliers with a 71.57 stroke average and posted four top 10 finishes this year. That included winning the 2023 ACC Championship individual title with an ACC and UVA record score of 16-under par 202. She’s also been selected to play for the U.S. team at the Arnold Palmer Cup this summer.
Clearly posted a 73.14 stroke average this season and led the team in tournament scoring three different times this season. She finished 5th at Tennessee’s Mercedes-Benz Collegiate this season.
The Hoos open NCAA Regional play on May 8 at the Westfield Regional in Indiana.
The Latest Under 4
And then there were seven.
The Virginia track and field program added another member to the sub-four minute mile club on Sunday at the Virginia High Performance meet held at Lannigan Field. Jack Eliason eclipsed the magical mark when he crossed the line in 3:59.64. He’s the seventh active member in the program to run under four minutes in the mile joining Conor Murphy, Gary Martin, James Donahue, Nate Mountain, Wes Porter, and Yasin Sado. Murphy set a school record in the indoor mile with a 3:55.24 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in February.
“I knew I could do it. The training with all these wonderful guys over the years, I had confidence in myself,” Eliason said in a Virginia Sports TV interview. “I got out a little quick, but just kept moving through. I knew I had to make a move around 500 or 600 to go. I saw the clock 2:59, 3 flat and I was like I’ve got to get this, I’ve got to get this. Fortunately got a good enough kick to just barely get under it. Just so blessed and honored.”
Virginia Adds Assistant Swim Coach
The UVA swimming and diving program has elevated volunteer assistant coach Courtney Caldwell into a full-time assistant position. She spent the last two seasons as a volunteer assistant working with the women’s side as the Hoos secured a National Championship three-peat.
Prior to joining the Virginia program, she coached with the Porter Valley Polar Bears in Los Angeles. She also swam for NC State for three years where she earned All-American honors.
“I’ve known Courtney and her family since doing a home visit with them while recruiting her in high school. She was a tenacious competitor and has carried that over into her coaching career,” Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo said in a news release. “ I’m excited to add her to our staff as she is one of the brightest up and coming young coaches in the country. Looking forward to having her on staff full time after two years as a volunteer as she adds a lot of value to our pool deck!”
