Individual Season Concludes at ITA Fall National Championships

SAN DIEGO –  Four members of the Virginia women’s tennis team competed at the 2023 ITA National Fall Championships, being held November 1-5 at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California.

Junior Mélodie Collard and sophomore Annabelle Xu lost their first round doubles match but picked up three wins in the consolation bracket to advance to Sunday’s final match before being edged by a duo from North Carolina. Collard and Xu were a 5-8 seed in the draw.

Senior Hibah Shaikh topped No. 16 Irina Cantos Siemers of Ohio State in the first round of 16 of the singles draw, the highest-ranked win of her career, before falling on Thursday in the Round of 16. Shaikh and grad student Natasha Subhash advanced to the second round of doubles before bowing out against the tournament’s No. 2 seed.

The Championships are the grand finale to the fall collegiate tennis season and feature 64 of the nation’s top collegiate singles players (32 men and 32 women) and 64 of the nation’s top collegiate doubles teams (32 men’s teams and 32 women’s teams). The event is in its seventh and final year, having replaced the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships beginning in 2017. Next year, the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship will take its place on the tournament calendar.

Shaikh earned her spot in the singles draw as a finalist at the ITA Atlantic Regional. Shaikh and  Subhash played in the doubles draw after winning the ITA Atlantic Regional championship. Collard and Xu were doubles finalists at the ITA All-American.

This was the final tournament of the fall individual competitions. The Cavaliers will begin dual match season in mid-January with that schedule due to be released later this week.

Wednesday, Nov. 1

• Shaikh topped 5-8 seed Irina Cantos Siemers of Ohio State 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 to advance to the Round of 16 in singles. It was the highest-ranked victory of Shaikh’s career (16)
• Shaikh and Subhash topped Katja Wiersholm and Jessica Alsola of Cal 6-2, 4-6, 10-7
• Collard and Xu fell 6-3, 7-6 (4) against Mao Mushika and Hannah Viller Moeller of Cal

Thursday, Nov. 2

• Shaikh fell 6-4, 6-4 against Hannah Viller Moeller of Cal in the Round of 16
• Shaikh and Subhash fell 6-1, 7-6 (5) against No. 2 seed Janice Tjen and Savannah Broadus of Pepperdine in the Round of 16
• Collard and Xu won a consolation match against Atnina Pitta and Alexandra Mikhailuk of Mississippi State 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the consolation quarterfinals

Friday, Nov. 3

• Collard and Xu edged Katherine Duong and Megan Heuser of Illinois 5-7, 6-2, 10-3 to advance to the consolation semifinals

Saturday, Nov. 4

• Collard and Xu won 6-4, 6-1 against Elizabeth Eades and Lidia Gonzalez of Kentucky

Sunday, Nov. 5

• Collard and Xu were edged 6-4, 6-3 by Abigail Forbes and Reilly Tran of North Carolina in the consolation final

Singles competition
32 #85 Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) def. #14 Irina Cantos Siemers (Ohio State) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0
16 Hannah Moeller (California) def. #85 Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
32 Hibah Shaikh/Natasha Subhash (Virginia) def. #9 Katja Wiersholm/Jessica Alsola (California) 6-2, 4-6, 10-7
16 #1 Janice Tjen/Savannah Broadus (Pepperdine) def. Hibah Shaikh/Natasha Subhash (Virginia) 6-1, 7-6

32 Mao Mushika/Hannah Moeller (California) def. #46 Annabelle Xu/Melodie Collard (Virginia) 6-3, 7-6
c #46 Melodie Collard/Annabelle Xu (Virginia) def. Atnina Pitta/Alexandra Mikhailuk (Mississippi State) 6-3, 6-2
cqf #46 Melodie Collard/Annabelle Xu (Virginia) def. #8 Katherine Duong/Megan Heuser (Illinois) 5-7, 6-2, 10-3
csf #46 Melodie Collard/Annabelle Xu (Virginia) def. Elizabeth Eades/Lidia Gonzalez (Kentucky) 6-4, 6-1
cf #53 Reilly Tran/Abbey Forbes (North Carolina) def. #46 Melodie Collard/Annabelle Xu (Virginia) 6-4, 6-3