No. 14 Virginia Takes 4-1 Win Over No. 18 South Carolina
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 14 Virginia women’s tennis team (3-1) picked up its second win of the week on Saturday (Jan. 30), claiming a 4-1 victory over No. 18 South Carolina (3-3) at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Virginia used the doubles point and singles wins from senior Rosie Johanson (Vancouver, British Columbia), junior Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) and freshman Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) to claim the victory. South Carolina’s point came from a win on court four in singles.
Navarro clinched the win in the battle at the top of the lineup, coming back after dropping her first set to secure the victory. The Virginia freshman defeated No. 34 Mia Horvit, a fifth-year senior for the Gamecocks, by a score of 1-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Virginia took the early lead by claiming courts one and two in doubles, picking up wins over nationally-ranked pairings from South Carolina on both courts.
After the Gamecocks won on court three, Virginia’s tandem of Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia) and Natasha Subhash (Fairfax, Va.) defeated No. 20 Silvia Chinellato and Emma Shelton by a score of 6-2 on court two. The Cavaliers then locked up the doubles point when Virginia broke serve on court one and the pairing of Johanson and Navarro defeated the No. 29 pairing of Megan Davies and Horvit by a score of 7-5 on court one.
O’Dell and Johanson both picked up straight-set victories on courts six and three, respectively, to push Virginia out to a 3-0 lead in the dual score. South Carolina got on the board with a 6-4, 6-2 win by Chinellato at four singles before Navarro would clinch the win.
Virginia is scheduled to return to action on Friday, Feb. 19, when the Cavaliers host No. 6 Duke to open ACC play.
MATCH NOTES
• UVA won doubles for the second straight match with wins over the No. 20 and No. 29 teams for the Gamecocks.
• On court one, the tandem of Johanson/Navarro broke serve to take the 7-5 win and clinch the doubles point.
• Virginia defeated the Gamecocks for the first time since 2015 in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament.
• With Saturday’s win, the all-time series now stands at 8-4 in favor of the Gamecocks.
• Freshman Emma Navarro improved to 4-0 on the season with the win over No. 34 Mia Horvit. She is 3-0 against nationally-ranked players in those matches.
FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY
“That was a hard-fought win by the team tonight. South Carolina is a good team who makes you earn everything. There were many momentum switches, but I thought our team stayed composed no matter what the situation was and earned this win tonight. I’m very proud of them.”
No. 14 Virginia 4, No. 18 South Carolina 1
Singles
1. No. 80 Emma Navarro def. No. 34 Mia Horvit (SC) – 1-6, 6-0, 6-1
2. No. 11 Natasha Subhash vs. No. 30 Megan Davies (SC) – 6-3, 5-6 (unfinished)
3. No. 47 Rosie Johanson def. No. 93 Emma Shelton (SC) – 6-4, 6-3
4. Silvia Chinellato (SC) def. Hibah Shaikh – 6-4, 6-2
5. Vivian Glozman vs. Allie Gretkowski (SC) – 6-3, 1-6, 4-4 (unfinished)
6. No. 104 Amber O’Dell def. Ana Cruz (SC) – 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 1
Doubles
1. Rosie Johanson/Emma Navarro def. No. 29 Megan Davis/Mia Horvit (SC) – 7-5
2. Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash def. No. 20 Silvia Chinellato/Emma Shelton (SC) – 6-2
3. Ana Cruz/Allie Gretkowski (SC) def. Amber O’Dell/Hibah Shaikh, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1