Virginia Opens NCAA Tournament With Old Dominion Friday
Interactive Bracket | Live Stats | Live Video
COLUMBIA, S.C. –The No. 21 Virginia women’s tennis team opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday (May 3), facing No. 40 Old Dominion (19-4) in a 9 a.m. match at the Carolina Tennis Center at South Carolina.
The winner of Friday’s match will advance to a second-round matchup against the winner of Friday’s other match between No. 4 South Carolina and North Florida. That second-round matchup will be played at 10 a.m. on Saturday (May 4).
FOLLOW THE ACTION
All matches in the South Carolina regional of the NCAA Tournament will have live stats and a live video stream linked at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates on the action by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWomensTennis) or by downloading the official UVA Sports app.
VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Cavaliers are making the program’s 19th appearance in the NCAA Championships. Virginia is 21-18 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches. The Cavaliers advanced to the Sweet 16 six times in the history of the program and have advanced to the Elite Eight twice. Last season, the Cavaliers competed at the South Carolina regional, posting a win over VCU in the first round before falling to then 10th-seeded South Carolina in the second round.
VIRGINIA IN THE RANKINGS
Virginia enters the ACC Tournament with two players ranked in the latest Oracle/ITA Women’s Rankings. Senior Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine) is ranked No. 23 in singles, while freshman Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) is ranked No. 106.
In doubles action, the Cavaliers have a trio of teams in the rankings. The pairing of Kelley and freshman Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia) is ranked No. 17, while the duo of O’Dell and junior Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) is ranked No. 50. The UVA tandem of Munera and sophomore Vivian Glozman (Bellevue, Wash.) is ranked No. 90.
In the team rankings, Virginia continues to hold down a spot in the top 25 with a ranking of No. 21 this week.
LAST TIME OUT VS. OLD DOMINION
Virginia and Old Dominion faced each other in the regular season with the Cavaliers taking a 4-3 victory over the Monarchs in Charlottesville on March 28. In that match, Virginia grabbed the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 victories on courts two and three before taking the first three singles matches on courts two, three and four to lock up the dual-match win. Old Dominion then won in straight sets on court five before taking super tiebreaks on courts one and six for the final 4-3 margin of victory.
THE SERIES WITH OLD DOMINION
Virginia and Old Dominion have faced each other 31 times with the Cavaliers holding a 26-5 lead in a series that began in the spring of 1978. Old Dominion won the series opener against the Cavaliers in the 2018 season, but the Cavaliers won the last meeting earlier this season. The two teams had not faced each other for seven years prior to that 2017 season. Virginia is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Monarchs.
A LOOK AT THE MONARCHS
Old Dominion earned an at-large selection to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, marking the first time the program had received an at-large bid to the event in only its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Monarch’s previous NCAA Tournament appearance came in the 2001 season when Old Dominion won the CAA Tournament. This season, Old Dominion has posted a 19-4 mark on the season and is led by Holly Hutchinson who is ranked No. 78 in singles and is also part of the No. 76 doubles pairing with Brooke Pilkington. Old Dominion is 1-2 against top 25 teams this season and is 2-4 against teams in the Oracle/ITA Team Rankings.