Emma Navarro Advances to NCAA Singles Semifinals

ORLANDO, Fla. – Virginia women’s tennis freshman Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) has advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship with a victory on Wednesday (May 26) at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

Navarro, the No. 3 seed in the 64-player championship, took just one hour and one minute to defeat Paris Corley of LSU by a 6-2, 6-1 final. Corley was 22-5 this season in singles for the Tigers and is ranked No. 60 in the latest ITA Singles Ranking.

Navarro (23-1) will face a familiar opponent in Thursday’s semifinal, taking on No. 2 Sara Daavettila (22-1) of North Carolina. The two previously squared off in the ACC Championship semifinals, with the match abandoned in the third set. Daavettila is ranked No. 2 in the ITA Singles rankings but is the No. 1 seed in the championship.

The match will begin at 12 p.m. and will stream live on the TennisOne app.

Navarro is the second player in program history to advance to the NCAA Singles Semifinals, joining two-time national champion Danielle Collins (2014-16).

FROM EMMA NAVARRO

“Yeah, it feels really good. I was happy with today’s performance. My first two rounds weren’t my best, kind of getting out the kinks and nerves, but definitely played better these past two rounds. But I’m super excited for tomorrow.

“I’ve been working a lot on my forehand this past season and really developing it and using a lot of variety on it. I hit my backhand pretty flat so the contrast that with the heavy forehand, that’s kind of been my game plan these last few days. And I think that’s worked pretty well. And just like just fighting, sticking in points, being tough, mental toughness, definitely a big factor out here.”

Navarro in the NCAA Singles Championship

• R64: Emma Navarro (UVA) def. Hailey Giavara (Cal) 7-6 (3), 6-2
• R32: Emma Navarro (UVA) def. Ilze Hattingh (ASU) 1-6, 7-5, 6-0
• R16: Emma Navarro (UVA) def. Meg Kowalski (UGA) 6-1, 6-1
• QF: Emma Navarro (UVA) def. Paris Corley (LSU) 6-2, 6-1