No. 7 Virginia Topples No. 3 Georgia at ITA Indoors

MADISON, Wisc. –  The No. 7 Virginia women’s tennis (8-1) closed out play at the  ITA National Team Indoor Championship with a 4-3 victory against No. 3 Georgia (3-2) on Sunday (Feb. 13) in a consolation match at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisc.

In a rematch of last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 match, Virginia went up 3-0 on the Bulldogs, but Georgia rallied to tie the match at three. Senior Sofia Munera clinched the victory for the Cavaliers on court four.

The match began with a close doubles point. Virginia edged Georgia 7-5 on both courts one and two to take the 1-0 lead into singles. Sophomore Emma Navarro quickly added to Virginia’s lead with a 6-0, 6-1 win against Lea Ma on the top court. Junior Natasha Subhash gave UVA a 3-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-0 victory against No. 10 Mell Reasco on court two.

Georgia won the first set on the other four courts, however, the Cavaliers won the second set on three of the courts, forcing third sets.

Georgia began its comeback on court six where Hibah Shaikh suffered a late service break to be edged 6-2, 7-5. The Bulldogs won 6-3 in the third set on court three to make it 3-2. Sophomore Sara Ziodato was edged 7-5 in her third set on court five by Ania Hertel, tying the match at three.

On court four, Munera and Morgan Coppoc were in a battle from the start. Coppoc edged Munera 7-5 in the first set, but the Cavalier won the second 6-4. Munera picked up an early break in the third set and led 3-1, but Coppoc tied it up 3-3. Munera broke Coppoc’s serve to lead 4-3, only to be broken right back, tying it at four. Munera again picked up a break to go up 5-4. She held serve to win the set 6-4 and take the match for the Cavaliers.

MATCH NOTES

• This was the highest-ranked opponent that the Cavaliers have defeated since upsetting No. 3 North Carolina 4-2 in the 2016 NCAA Championship Round of 16
• This was the Cavaliers’ first win against Georgia since a 4-2 victory in February of 2015. UGA leads the all-time series 5-2
• Virginia had two top-10 victories last season, downing No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Duke in back-to-back home matches
• The Cavaliers fell 4-1 against No. 3 Georgia last year in the NCAA Championship Round of 16

FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY

“I’m so proud of the effort, intention and grit the team played with today. Georgia is a very good team who made us earn everything today from doubles until the last match on. We were disappointed with how we finished our match yesterday with UNC but we learned a lot from that match. I’m incredibly proud of the poise Sofia showed being the last match on. She really embraced the moment along with the rest of the team. It was a complete team effort and we are excited to keep growing and building as a team.”

#7 Virginia 4, #3 Georgia 3

Singles competition

1. #45 Emma Navarro (VA) def. #39 Lea Ma (UGA) 6-0, 6-1
2. #28 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #10 Mell Reasco (UGA) 6-3, 6-0
3. Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. #54 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Sofia Munera (VA) def. #119 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
5. #95 Ania Hertel (UGA) def. Sara Ziodato (VA) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
6. #46 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. Hibah Shaikh (VA) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles competition

1. Emma Navarro/Amber O’Dell (VA) def. Morgan Coppoc/Ania Hertel (UGA) 7-5
2. Elaine Chervinsky/Natasha Subhash (VA) def. Mell Reasco/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 7-5
3. Lea Ma/Meg Kowalski (UGA) vs. Sofia Munera/Hibah Shaikh (VA) 4-5, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,6,3,5,4)
T-3:25