You know who's grossly underrated? Virginia Men's Tennis. This weekend, they flexed just a little of their muscle by collecting three titles at the UVA Plus One Invitational. Junior Sanam Singh topped Tennessee freshman Rhyne Williams, 6-4, 6-4, for the A-2 bracket title, while junior Michael Shabaz defeated Tennessee's Boris Conkic, who had to retire with an injury after splitting the first two sets, in the A-4 bracket. "Showbiz" Shabaz also picked up the A-3 doubles title with freshman teammate Jarmere Jenkins.
I continue to be impressed with the caliber team that Virginia puts up year in, year out. Likewise, I am baffled as to why we as a team have not been able to get it together come tourney time in the spring. We've got the talent, no doubt. For crying out loud, Showbiz qualified for the U.S. Open this year!
Of course, we all know the answer to this. It's the same reason why our standout squads of lacrosse, soccer, baseball, and really, all the rest of Virginia Athletics, excluding football and men's and women's basketball, don't receive the recognition they deserve -- they're the non-revenue sports.
For those of you in Charlottesville and the neighboring area, I can't stress enough how much fun these matches are. You've got the opportunity to see U.S. Open-caliber players for free for crying out loud! Plus, Snyder Tennis courts are gorgeous (notwithstanding the traffic disaster that is Emmet St.). Built in 1997, it marks a new era of Virginia Tennis that has been marked with national rankings and national championships.