No. 5 Virginia Downs No. 12 OSU 4-1 to Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –  The No. 5 Virginia women’s tennis team (23-5) advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Women’s Tennis Team Championship with a 4-1 victory against No. 12 Oklahoma State (20-6) on Saturday (May 14) at the Charlottesville Super Regional.

Sophomore Hibah Shaikh clinched the victory with a three-set win on court five.

Virginia advances to take No. 4 Texas (23-4) on Friday, May 20, at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill. It is the third time in program history that the team has advanced to the quarterfinals.

The match started outdoors with the Cavaliers taking the doubles point but was completed indoors due to a rainstorm that arrived midway through singles.

The Cavaliers started hot with a pair of dominant doubles victories with freshman Elaine Chervinsky and junior Natasha Subhash winning 6-1 on court two. Seniors Amber O’Dell and Sofia Munera followed with a 6-3 win on court three to clinch the point.

The match turned in favor of the Cowgirls who won four of the six first sets in singles.

Sophomore Emma Navarro was unaffected by the momentum shift, racing through a 6-1, 6-1 victory against No. 20 Lisa Marie Rioux to give UVA a 2-0 lead. Oklahoma State’s Oona Orpana topped Munera 6-2, 6-0 on court four to get the Cowgirls on the board.

The Cavaliers rallied in their second sets with Subhash, Chervinsky and Shaikh all forcing third sets in their matches.

As soon as the action moved indoors, sophomore Sara Ziodato won her match 6-3, 6-2 against Alana Wolfberg on court six to give UVA a 3-1 advantage.

Subhash, Chervinsky and Shaikh all took leads in their third sets, but it was Shaikh who raced to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory against Ayumi Miyamoto to seal the victory.

Shaikh has clinched all three matches for the Cavaliers in the NCAA Championship.

FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY

“I think that this team is extremely resilient. They’ve shown that time and time again throughout this entire season. They’ve learned to embrace the tough moments and there was definitely a tough moment there and outside when we lost four first sets pretty handily. But this team, you can’t ever count them out. They believe in themselves. They understand they may have to change strategies and they’re willing to do it. They’re willing to adjust and they’re willing to just stay out there in those uncomfortable moments. That’s what they did today and it paid off.”

MATCH NOTES

• This is the first time that the Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals since 2016 and the first time under head coach Sara O’Leary
• This is the third time that both the men’s and women’s teams have advanced to the quarterfinals 

#5 Virginia 4, #12 Oklahoma State 1

Singles competition

1. #1 Emma Navarro (VA) def. #20 Lisa Marie Rioux (WOSU22) 6-1, 6-1
2. #44 Natasha Subhash (VA) vs. #31 Mhai Sawangkaew (WOSU22) 2-6, 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
3. #72 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) vs. Martina Zerulo (WOSU22) 1-6, 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
4. Oona Orpana (WOSU22) def. Sofia Munera (VA) 6-2, 6-0
5. Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Ayumi Miyamoto (WOSU22) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Alana Wolfberg (WOSU22) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #3 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (VA) vs. #12 Lisa Marie Rioux/Ayumi Miyamoto (WOSU22) 3-4, unfinished
2. #62 Elaine Chervinsky/Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #75 Mhai Sawangkaew/Martina Zerulo (WOSU22) 6-1
3. #73 Sofia Munera/Amber O’Dell (VA) def. Oona Orpana/Dariya Detkovskaya (WOSU22) 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,4,6,5)
NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional – Round of 16
Matched started outdoors and moved indoors midway through singles
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