No. 20 Virginia Shuts Out Louisville On Senior Day
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –For the second straight Sunday and third time this season the Cavaliers posted a shutout in ACC play as No. 20 Virginia (16-5, 8-4 ACC) defeated Louisville (10-12, 2-10 ACC) by a score of 7-0 at the Snyder Tennis Center.
Virginia won the doubles point then swept through singles play to take the shutout of the Cardinals. The Cavaliers also posted shutout victories over Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech in ACC play this season.
“I’m so proud of the focus and determination of our entire team in an effort to honor our two seniors today,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “Meghan (Kelley) and Erica (Susi) have done so much for this program on and off the court. We could not be more grateful for their commitment and contributions. It was incredible to play at home with both of their families at the match. We want to continue to honor them as we compete in our last two regular-season matches and soon begin the post-season.”
Virginia worked quickly to take the doubles point, picking up a 6-2 win from the duo of Hunter Bleser (New Braunfels, Texas) and Kelley on court three before the No. 63 tandem of junior Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and freshman Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) would clinch the point with a 6-2 win on court one.
The Cavalier lead grew shortly after moving into singles play as Kelley held a 5-1 lead in the first set at the top of the lineup when her opponent, Nikolina Jovic, retired to give the Virginia senior the win and the home team a 2-0 lead in the match score.
Freshman Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia) followed that up with a straight-set victory on court five, defeating Dina Chaika by a score of 6-1, 6-1 to push the Cavaliers within a point of clinching the match. Sophomore Vivian Glozman then secured the victory with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 victory over Sena Suswam on court two.
Junior Camille Favero (Sacramento, Calif.) extended the lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Diana Wong on court six.
The Cavaliers then closed things out with back-to-back wins in tight second sets on courts four and three, respectively. Gullickson gutted out a 6-1, 7-5 win over Aleksandra Mally before O’Dell claimed the final court with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Raven Neely.
Virginia will return to action next week with a pair of ACC matches on the road. The Cavaliers will face No. 13 Florida State on Thursday (April 11) at 5 p.m. before closing out the regular season at No. 27 Miami on Saturday (April 13) in a noon match.
No. 20 Virginia 7, Louisville 0
Singles
1. No. 31 Meghan Kelley def. Nikolina Jovic (UL) – 5-1 (ret.)
2. Vivian Glozman def. Sena Suswam (UL) – 6-1, 1-6, 6-0
3. No. 76 Amber O’Dell def. Raven Neely (UL) – 6-4, 7-6 (5)
4. No. 117 Chloe Gullickson def. Aleksandra Mally (UL) – 6-1, 7-5
5. Sofia Munera def. Dina Chaika (UL) – 6-1, 6-1
6. Camille Favero def. Diana Wong (UL) – 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4, 3
Doubles
1. No. 63 Chloe Gullickson/Amber O’Dell def. Nikolina Jovic/Raven Neely (UL) – 6-2
2. Vivian Glozman/Sofia Munera led Chloe Hamlin/Sena Suswam (UL) – 5-3 (unfinished)
3. Hunter Bleser/Meghan Kelley def. Aleksandra Mally/Diana Wong (UL) – 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1