No. 13 Virginia Hosts No. 12 Michigan In Saturday Showdown
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 13 Virginia women’s tennis team (6-2) returns home to host No. 12 Michigan (4-3) in an 11 a.m. match on Saturday (Feb. 15) at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Fans can keep up with the action in the showdown of nationally-ranked teams through live stats and a live stream linked at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWomensTennis).
CAVALIERS TO HOST YOUTH CLINIC TO RAISE FUNDS FOR FIGHTING CHILDREN’S CANCER
Following the match with the Wolverines, the women’s tennis team will be hosting a Kid’s Tennis Clinic at 3 p.m. with all funds raised being donated to fight children’s cancer. The cost of attendance is $20 and can be paid at the start of the clinic. A donation box will also be on site. Attendees can get signed posters and pizza with the Virginia women’s tennis team and enjoy an afternoon of tennis. Kids must be eighth grade or younger to participate due to NCAA rules.
VIRGINIA IN THE RANKINGS
The Cavaliers came in at No. 13 in the latest Oracle/ITA Women’s Tennis rankings after a series of three-straight matches against nationally-ranked foes at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship last weekend. The Cavaliers have four players in the singles rankings with No. 21 Natasha Subhash (Fairfax, Va.), No. 55 Rosie Johanson (Vancouver, British Columbia), No. 78 Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) and No. 87 Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia). Virginia also has a doubles team in the rankings with O’Dell and Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) coming in at No. 59 as a tandem.
THE SERIES WITH THE WOLVERINES
Virginia and Michigan have faced each other seven times in program history with the Cavaliers holding a 5-2 lead in the all-time series. Virginia won the last meeting between the two teams by a score of 5-2 at Michigan last season and has won back-to-back matches in the series. The Cavaliers won the last meeting in Charlottesville by a score of 4-2 in the 2018 dual season.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines enter the weekend with a 4-3 record after posting wins over Ole Miss, No. 12 UCF, No. 24 Florida and Illinois. Michigan also competed at the ITA National Team Indoors last weekend, going 1-2 with losses to top-ranked Stanford and No. 12 Ohio State before beating the Illini. Michigan has three nationally-ranked players in singles with No. 35 Giulia Pairone, No. 51 Andrea Cerdan and No. 94 Alyvia Jones.
VIRGINIA TAKES ON CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
The Cavaliers have played a challenging schedule through the early stages of the 2020 dual season with five matches against nationally-ranked foes through the first eight contests. Saturday’s match with Michigan will mark the sixth top-25 opponent for Virginia through its first nine matches. The Cavaliers have already posted wins over No. 14 Arizona State, No. 16 California and No. 22 Tennessee in those matchups with nationally-ranked foes. The two losses came at the hands of No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Pepperdine. All five matches have been at neutral sites. Saturday’s match with Michigan is the first against a top-25 foe at home this season.
The challenge continues down the stretch as Virginia has three more top-25 opponents on the docket in the next four matches with road contests at No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 NC State and No. 17 Georgia Tech coming up. In all, Virginia has the chance to face nine top-25 opponents through its first 13 matches of the season.
UP NEXT FOR THE CAVALIERS
Virginia will go back on the road to face No. 21 Georgia Tech next Friday (Feb. 21) in a 4 p.m. match before returning home to host Clemson in a noon match on Sunday (Feb. 23).