Cavaliers Claim Second Consecutive ACC Championship
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Box Score April 26, 2015
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 4 seed Virginia captured its second consecutive ACC Women’s Tennis Championship with its 4-0 win over No. 6 seed Georgia Tech on Sunday (April 26) at North Carolina’s Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The match was originally scheduled outdoors at Cary Tennis Park, but was moved indoors due to a forecast of rain.
The two-time ACC champion Cavaliers improved to 21-5 with their sixth consecutive win. Virginia also became the first ACC school to capture back-to-back ACC championships since Georgia Tech won three consecutive titles from 2005-07. The Yellow Jackets fell to 16-9 with the loss.
“Georgia Tech was unbelievable and give them a ton of credit,” Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeau said. “You’re always fortunate to be here on that last day, and not to mention winning it. I’m so proud of the kids, everyone was fighting and no one was going to give a match away, and that has a tremendous impact. It feels good to win [a second straight ACC title] and Troy [Porco] and I are really happy for the kids.”
Virginia gained the doubles point and No. 19 Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.), Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Skylar Morton (Bethesda, Md.) each tallied singles wins in the ACC Championship final.
UVa recorded its third consecutive doubles point during the championship. Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and Morton defeated No. 16 Kendal Woodard and Paige Hourigan 8-4 on court one and Nauta and Cassie Mercer (Huntington, W.Va.) clinched the point with an 8-5 decision over Megan Kurey and Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer on court two. Collins and Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) held a 7-5 lead over Johnnise Renaud and Rasheeda McAdoo on court three when the team point was clinched. The Cavaliers also avenged a doubles loss to Georgia Tech during the regular season.
Virginia went up 2-0 after Georgia Tech’s Hourigan was forced to retire after suffering a leg injury with Collins leading 6-4 on court two. Nauta made it 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Woodard on court three before ACC Championship Most Valuable Player Morton clinched the win with a 6-4, 6-3 win over McAdoo on court four. Elbaba, Epstein and Mercer were all battling in their respective third sets when Morton clinched the ACC Championship.
Tenth-ranked Virginia will compete in its school-record seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament beginning May 9-10. The Cavaliers, who are expected to host the first and second rounds at Snyder Tennis Center, will learn their first-round opponent during the NCAA Women’s Tennis Selection Show on NCAA.com on Tuesday (April 28).
Notes: The Cavaliers defeated No. 1 North Carolina in the ACC Championship semifinals, marking their third win against a top-ranked opponent in school history. UVa also defeated then-No. 1 North Carolina in 2013 and then-No. 1 Duke in 2014.