No. 10 Virginia Downs Tennessee To Advance At ITA Kickoff Weekend
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 10 Virginia women’s tennis team (1-0) opened dual competition with a win on Saturday (Jan. 23), rallying to take a 4-1 victory over Tennessee (3-1) in the opening round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Ohio State.
Virginia will now face No. 13 Ohio State at 1 p.m. on Sunday for the right to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at Oklahoma State. The Cavaliers and Buckeyes have faced off eight times and the series is tied 4-4.
Against the Lady Vols, the Cavaliers fell behind after dropping the doubles point as Tennessee picked up victories on courts one and two to take the 1-0 lead in the overall dual score. But for the second straight season against Tennessee, Virginia rallied in singles to claim the victory.
Singles wins from seniors Vivian Glozman (Bellevue, Wash.) and Rosie Johanson (Abbotsford, British Columbia), sophomore Natasha Subhash (Fairfax, Va.) and freshman Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) secured the victory for the Cavaliers. Both Glozman and Subhash won in straight sets.
Subhash finished first on court two, while Glozman put Virginia on top with her win at court six. Navarro then picked up the victory on court one in her collegiate debut, while Johanson clinched the match with her rally on court three.
MATCH NOTES
• Senior Rosie Johanson clinched the match for Virginia, fighting back from a 4-0 deficit in the third set to claim victory.
• Sophomore Natasha Subhash got the first singles win of the afternoon, winning in straight sets.
• Freshman Emma Navarro won her collegiate debut, using a 20-minute third set to claim her singles match.
• Freshman Hibah Shaikh (Teaneck, N.J.) was tied 2-2 in a third set, while junior Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) had started a third as both matches went unfinished after Johanson clinched.
• Virginia has now won four straight matches against Tennessee, including wins in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Tennessee leads the all-time series 7-6.
No. 10 Virginia 4, Tennessee 1
Singles
1. No. 80 Emma Navarro def. No. 118 Carly Briggs (UT) – 6-4, 5-7, 6-0
2. No. 11 Natasha Subhash def. No. 85 Johanna Silva (UT) – 6-1, 6-2
3. No. 47 Rosie Johanson def. No. 52 Rebeka Mertena (UT) – 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
4. Hibah Shaikh vs. Tenika McGiffin (UT) – 6-4, 4-6 2-2 (unfinished)
5. No. 104 Amber O’Dell vs. Daria Kuczer (UT) – 6-2, 6-7 (4), (unfinished)
6. Vivian Glozman def. Callie Creath (UT) – 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 3
Doubles
1. Carly Briggs/Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Vivian Glozman/Natasha Subhash – 6-4
2. Esther Adeshina/Daria Kuczer (UT) def. Rosie Johanson/Emma Navarro – 7-6 (4)
3. Amber O’Dell/Hibah Shaikh def. Julie Bal/Rebeka Mertena (UT) – 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2