No. 14 Virginia Hosts No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 14 Virginia women’s tennis team (4-1, 0-0) opens Atlantic Coast Conference play by hosting No. 1 North Carolina (9-0, 0-0 ACC) on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.

MATCH DETAILS

• Live streaming video and live scoring will be available through links on VirginiaSports.com
• Due to health and safety considerations, in addition to the current guidelines for sports venues set by the Commonwealth of Virginia, attendance for UVA home men’s and women’s indoor tennis competitions will be limited to the family of student-athletes and coaching staff until further notice

NOTING THE CAVALIERS

• Virginia was originally scheduled to play Duke on Friday, Feb. 19, but that match was postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will now play on Saturday, March 27 in Charlottesville
• The Cavaliers remained at No. 14 in this week’s ITA team rankings. Individual rankings in singles and doubles have not been updated since the preseason
• Virginia is coming off a 7-0 home victory against Marshall last Friday. The Cavaliers won the doubles point and swept the singles matches in straight-sets
• Hibah Shaikh (Teaneck, N.J.) was named the ACC Freshman of the Week after picking up victories on the 3 doubles and singles courts against Marshall. In doubles, she partnered with senior Rosie Johanson (Vancouver, Canada) for a 6-3 win. In singles, she topped Madi Ballow 6-4, 6-2
• Shaikh joins Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) as Cavalier first years to have been named the ACC Freshman of the Week this season. Navarro has won the honor twice as well as being named the ACC Player of the Week. A Virginia first-year has earned the honor every week that the Cavaliers have competed this season
• Navarro has started her collegiate career with a perfect 4-0 record at No. 1 singles
• Senior Vivian Glozman (Bellevue, Wash.) has won her last four singles matches, improving to 5-1 on the season
• Navarro and senior Rosie Johanson (Vancouver, Canada) have won their last three doubles matches. They are 3-1 overall this season and 2-0 on the top court

NOTING NORTH CAROLINA

• North Carolina won the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, its second-straight title and its fifth in the last nine years
• UNC has three singles players ranked in the top-10: Alexa Graham (3), Sara Daavettila (4) and Cameron Morra (6)
• Daavettila and Graham are ranked No. 3 in doubles
• Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary was an assistant coach at North Carolina, her alma mater, from August of 2008 to June of 2014.  During her six years as an assistant coach, O’Leary helped the Tar Heels reach the NCAA Tournament each year, including the 2014 season when UNC reached its first national championship match before falling to UCLA 4-3
• O’Leary played at North Carolina under her maiden name of Anundsen, earning All-America honors in 2006 and 2007, and helped lead the Tar Heels to a pair of Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight appearances. During her senior season, she combined with Jenna Long to win the 2007 NCAA doubles title – the first national championship in UNC program history
• North Carolina leads the all-time series 44-15
• UNC has won the last four meetings, including a 6-1 victory last season in Chapel Hill. UVA’s last victory over the Tar Heels came in the Round of 16 of the 2016 NCAA Tournament

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia is on the road next week, playing at Boston College on Friday, Feb. 26 at noon before heading to Syracuse for a Sunday, Feb. 28 match against the Orange
• The Cavaliers next home match is Saturday, March 6 against Louisville