Virginia Advances to NCAA Second Round

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 13 Virginia women’s tennis team (15-6) advanced to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship after winning 4-0 against LIU (9-1) on Friday (May 7) on the indoor courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

The Cavaliers will face No. 15 Tennessee (17-8) on Saturday (May 8) at 4 p.m. in the second round. Tennessee won 4-0 against JMU in the first match of the day at the Charlottesville Regional to advance.

The Cavaliers opened the match with dominant 6-0 and 6-1 victories on doubles courts two and three to take the 1-0 lead.

Freshman Hibah Shaikh (Fairfax, Va.) made it a 2-0 advantage with a 6-1, 6-0 win against Elinor Storkaas on court four. Moments later, senior Rosie Johanson (Vancouver, Canada) completed a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Victoria Erechtchenko to make it 3-0. Two minutes later, Navarro closed out a 6-2, 6-1 win against Sofiya Kuzina to finish off the match.

FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY

“This was a great start to the tournament for us. I thought the team was definitely ready to go from the first point in doubles and I felt like they didn’t take their foot off the gas and really wanted to go out there with something to prove. That’s what it’s about right now for us. We’re really just going after something so we’re excited. I think it just shows their focus right now, and that they’re just really excited for this challenge. They’re putting everything into every point in every game and again not taking their foot off the gas.”

NOTING THE CAVALIERS

• Senior Rosie Johanson extended her win streak to 13 straight singles matches
• Two freshmen, Emma Navarro and Hibah Shaikh, both picked up wins in their NCAA Championship debuts
• LIU was making its fourth-straight NCAA tournament appearance, and sixth overall, after going undefeated in Northeast Conference action and claiming the NEC championship title
• UVA and Tennessee met in the opening match of ITA Kickoff Weekend this year (Jan. 23) with the Cavaliers winning 4-1
• Virginia is No. 13 in this week’s ITA rankings but is the No. 14 seed in the Championship. Tennessee is ranked No. 15 but is unseeded in the tournament

VIRGINIA & THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• This is the Cavaliers first time hosting since 2016 when the team advanced to the quarterfinals
• This is UVA’s eighth overall time hosting a regional
• This is UVA’s third-straight trip to the NCAA Championship. In each of the last two (2018 and 2019), the Cavaliers played in the Columbia Regional, both times falling in the second round to the Gamecocks
• Virginia has advanced to the Round of 16 six times
• The Cavaliers’ best finish has been two runs of the quarterfinals (2014 and 2016)

FOLLOW ALONG

• Live scoring and live video streams will be available for all matches

ATTENDANCE POLICY

• Due to health and safety considerations, in addition to the current guidelines for sports venues set by the Commonwealth of Virginia, attendance for the NCAA Championship matches will be limited to guests of participating student-athletes and coaching staffs. Tickets will not be available to the general public

ON THE HORIZON

• The team advancing from the second round of the tournament will head to Orlando, Fla., where the USTA National Campus will be hosting the final four rounds of the tournament. The women’s Round of 16 will be held on Sunday, May 16, with quarterfinal matches on Wednesday, May 19. Men’s and women’s semi-finals will be held on May 21 and both team championships contested on Saturday, May 22
• The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will run from May 23-28

#13 Virginia 4, LIU 0

Singles competition

1. #3 Emma Navarro (VA) def. Sofiya Kuzina (LIU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #9 Natasha Subhash (VA) vs. Valentina Dancenco (LIU) 7-5, 4-0, unfinished
3. #90 Rosie Johanson (VA) def. V Erechtchenko (LIU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Elinor Storkaas (LIU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Amber O’Dell (VA) vs. Bianca Compuesto (LIU) 6-1, 4-3, unfinished
6. Vivian Glozman (VA) vs. Kate Jorjoliani (LIU) 6-3, 3-1, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. #21 Emma Navarro/Rosie Johanson (VA) vs. Valentina Dancenco/Sofiya Kuzina (LIU) 4-2, unfinished
2. #17 Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) def. V Erechtchenko/Jasmine Maduel (LIU) 6-1
3. Vivian Glozman/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Elinor Storkaas/Bianca Compuesto (LIU) 6-0

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,3,1)

T-1:38 A-42