No. 14 Virginia Topples No. 3 NC State, 4-3

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 14 Virginia women’s tennis team (16-4, 8-3 ACC) picked up a 4-3 victory against No. 3 NC State (20-4, 7-3 ACC) on Sunday, April 10 at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.

The Cavaliers dropped the doubles point but picked up four singles victories to take the match. Sophomore Sara Ziodato won the clinching match on court six.

The Wolfpack opened with a 6-3 victory on doubles court one. Freshman Elaine Chervinsky and senior Amber O’Dell countered with a 6-3 victory on court three. Amelia Rajecki and Abigil Rencheli won 6-4 on court two to clinch the point for NC State.

Sophomore Hibah Shaikh tied the match 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on singles court five. Rajecki put the Wolf Pack back ahead with a straight-set victory on court four. Sophomore Emma Navarro tied it 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-1 win against No. 12 Jaeda Daniel on the top court. Junior Natasha Subhash gave UVA its first lead with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Rencheli on court two. NC State tied it 3-3 when Priska Nugroho won 7-6(4), 6-2 on court three.

On court six, Ziodato had won her first set 6-4 and came back from down a break in the second set against Nell Miller. The second set was tied 5-5 when Nugroho tied the overall score. Ziodato and Miller played the second set to a 6-6 deadlock, forcing a tiebreaker. Miller dominated the breaker 7-2, forcing a third set to decide the match. Ziodato rebounded from her second-set loss by dominating the third set, taking it 6-1 to pick up the victory for the Cavaliers.

FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY

“We talked a lot before I match about just being resilient, being able to bounce back and not being afraid of failure. We missed some opportunities in that doubles point, but I don’t think that fazed the girls at all. I think they just came back out more determined than ever and it showed in the singles.”

“I think we’ve been knocking on the door with some of these top teams. We had a healthy squad out there today, so that makes a big difference because we haven’t been in that position in the past eight matches or so. I think really helped with the energy today and we’re just excited moving forward. I think we’re just going to continue to build off this.”

MATCH NOTES

• This was the Cavaliers’ second victory over a team ranked third in the nation this season after winning 4-3 against then No. 3 Georgia at ITA Indoors
• This was the Cavaliers’ second win against a top-10 opponent this season. Last year Virginia had two top-10 victories, downing No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Duke in back-to-back home matches
• Emma Navarro went 2-0 this weekend in singles after playing earlier this week at the WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open. She is 15-1 in dual matches this spring
• Natasha Subhash has won her last five singles matches

ON THE HORIZON

• Virginia closes out the regular season on the road next week, playing at Clemson on Friday, Apr. 15 and at Georgia Tech on Sunday, Apr. 17
• The ACC Championship will be held Apr. 20-24 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.

#14 Virginia 4, #3 NC State Wolfpack 3

Singles competition

1. #5 Emma Navarro (VA) def. #12 Jaeda Daniel (ST) 6-4, 6-1
2. #40 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #33 Abigail Rencheli (ST) 6-4, 6-2
3. #61 Priska Nugroho (ST) def. #53 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. Amelia Rajecki (ST) def. Sofia Munera (VA) 6-1, 6-4
5. Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Sophie Abrams (ST) 6-2, 6-3
6. Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Nell Miller (ST) 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Jaeda Daniel/Nell Miller (ST) def. #17 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (VA) 6-3
2. #26 Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) 6-4
3. Elaine Chervinsky/Amber O’Dell (VA) def. Priska Nugroho/Sophie Abrams (ST) 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,4,1,2,3,6)
T-3:37 A-180