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The Virginia men's team continued to dominate with another 2-0 weekend, as the Hoos easily took care of #25 Wake Forest and #36 NC State. The Hoos did drop a point at Wake when Mac Styslinger fell in straight sets, but still rolled to a 6-1 win. The Wolfpack didn't fare quite as well, as UVA swept the match 7-0, with just 2 singles matchups requiring a third set.
With the win, UVA improves to 17-0 on the season and 6-0 in ACC play. Brian Boland's team has now won 99 straight conference matchups and will look to take #100 when Clemson visits Charlottesville on Friday at 3PM at Synder Tennis Center.
If you haven't been following, this team is stacked. Jarmere Jenkins, at first singles, is ranked #2 in the nation and was last season's ACC Player of the Year. Mitchell Frank, at second singles, was the ITA National Freshman of the Year (as well as the ACC's Freshman of the Year) in 2012. And at third singles, Alex Domijan is currently ranked first nationally. It's absurd.
The team's success is nothing new - with a winning streak like that, Wahoo fans are used to fielding one of the nation's best programs. However, an NCAA championship has somehow managed to elude them. And there's no mystery as to why: The USC Trojans have won it all the last 4 years, eliminating UVA each time. The last two years, Virginia fell in tightly contested championship matches, while UVA ran into Southern Cal in the semifinals and quarterfinals the two preceding seasons.
UVA has already played and beaten the Trojans earlier this year, when the Hoos won the ITA Indoor Championships in February. However, the team still has to get it done outdoors and are likely on a collision course to have the opportunity this May in Urbana, Illinois. USC is currently ranked 3rd in the nation, with UCLA at #2 (UCLA beat USC, at USC, though USC did win indoors the week prior). Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Duke, and Pepperdine round out the top 10.
Four regular season matches remain for Virginia - home against Clemson and Georgia Tech this coming weekend, followed by a road trip at Florida State and Miami.