Virginia Advances to the ACC Semifinals
ROME, Ga. – The Virginia women’s tennis team (19-4) opened play at the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Tennis Championship with a 4-2 victory against NC State (23-5) in a quarterfinal match on Friday (April 22) at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.
Virginia fell behind 2-0 but rallied with four-straight singles victories to win the match. Freshman Elaine Chervinsky won the clinching point on court three.
Virginia will face top-seeded North Carolina (24-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the semifinals.
NC State won the doubles point with 6-3 and 6-1 wins on courts one and three. The Wolfpack took a 2-0 lead with a straight-set victory on singles court two.
All five of the other singles matches went to three sets.
Sophomore Emma Navarro put the Cavaliers on the board with a win on court one against No. 12 Jaeda Daniel. Navarro took the first set 6-3, but Daniel took the second by the same score. Navarro won 6-0 in the third to take the point.
Sophomore Sara Ziodato tied the match 2-2 with a win on court six against Sophie Abrams. Ziodato won her first set 6-4, but dropped the second by that same score before taking the third 6-2.
Hibah Shaikh battled through two tight sets against Amelia Rajecki on court five, winning the first 7-5 but being edged in the second 6-4. She won 6-0 in the third to put the Cavaliers on the cusp.
Chervinsky won her first set 6-4 against Priska Nugroho, but was edged 6-4 in the second. She won the third 6-3 to clinch the victory for the Cavaliers.
Senior Sofia Munera was in her third set when play was halted. Munera had lost her first set 6-1 against Nell Miller, but took her second set to a tiebreaker, winning it 7-4 to force the third set.
FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY
“It was an absolute war today with NC State. They came out really strong in doubles and we didn’t play our best. I was super proud of the composure our team showed out there no matter what the situation was. I love the belief they have in themselves and in each other and we are excited for tomorrow’s match!”
MATCH NOTES
- Virginia is the 4-seed and NC State the 5-seed
- NC State is ranked No. 3 in the latest ITA team rankings. Virginia is No. 7
- North Carolina is the top seed in the tournament and ranked No. 1 in the ITA team rankings
- The Cavaliers have won their last eight matches, including two victories against No. 3 NC State. It is the longest active win streak in the conference
- Last season, the Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals with a 4-2 win against Duke before falling 4-1 against North Carolina. Natasha Subhash had the lone point for the Cavaliers in the loss to the Tar Heels
#7 Virginia 4, #3 NC State 2
Singles competition
- #1 Emma Navarro (VA) def. #12 Jaeda Daniel (ST) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
- #40 Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. #42 Natasha Subhash (VA) 6-4, 6-3
- Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. #66 Priska Nugroho (ST) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
- Sofia Munera (VA) vs. Nell Miller (ST) 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-3, unfinished
- Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Amelia Rajecki (ST) 7-5, 4-6, 6-0
- Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Sophie Abrams (ST) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
- #2 Jaeda Daniel/Nell Miller (ST) def. #7 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (VA) 6-3
- #59 Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) vs. #26 Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli (ST) 4-5, unfinished
- Sophie Abrams/Priska Nugroho (ST) def. Elaine Chervinsky/Amber O’Dell (VA) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (2,1,6,5,3)