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…
