By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In college tennis, a team’s whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. Consider the University of Virginia women’s squad. Head coach Sara O’Leary may not have a player as dominant as, say, a Danielle Collins or an Emma Navarro at the top of her singles lineup, but collectively the Cavaliers are putting together one of the best seasons in program history.

“We understand that at the end of the day, it’s a unit and we’re a team,” sophomore Annabelle Xu said after fifth-seeded UVA advanced to the NCAA tournament’s third round Sunday with a 4-0 victory over Princeton on the indoor courts at the Boar’s Head Resort.

“Our team is so deep,” Xu said. “I think that’s been one of our biggest strengths all season, knowing that every time we step on the court, every single person at every spot has a chance to win.”

In the NCAA tournament, as in the regular season, teams play dual matches in which seven points are at stake. The six singles matches are worth one point apiece, and the team that wins two of the three doubles matches earns another point.

“Every spot is worth the same,” O’Leary said. “We have confidence in everyone we put out there, and I think they…

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia men’s tennis team will play in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen at the Boar’s Head Resort on Saturday afternoon. At the same time, the UVA women’s team will play in the same round of its NCAA tournament, some 560 miles away in Ann Arbor, Mich.

A year ago, both teams advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, and the Virginia men went on to capture the title for the fifth time. The Cavaliers’ director of tennis, Andres Pedroso, is also head coach of the men’s team, so he won’t be in Michigan on Saturday. But he’ll be pulling for his counterpart, Sara O’Leary, and her team.

“Sara and I have always believed that when one program is doing well, it’s really good for the other program,” Pedroso said. “I really think that if both teams are working together, things that are happening on one team translate toward the other team, and it’s only positive and beneficial for everyone.”

This marks the third straight season that both UVA teams have reached the third round of their respective NCAA tournaments. The two programs are close, and it’s “been a total team effort,” Pedroso said. “I was dead on when it came to Sara’s character when we…