No. 11 Virginia Qualifies for ITA National Team Indoor Championship
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 11 Virginia women’s tennis team (6-0) picked up a 4-0 victory against Georgia Tech (1-2) on Saturday (Jan. 27) in the final of ITA Kickoff Weekend matches being contested at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and picked up straight-set wins on singles courts two, four and five. Senior Sara Ziodato won the clinching point for the Cavaliers.
Grad student Natasha Subhash and senior Hibah Shaikh opened the match with a 6-1 victory at No. 2 doubles, but Georgia Tech evened it with a 6-4 win on court one. Ziodato and sophomore Annabelle Xu won 6-4 on court three to take the point.
Junior Elaine Chervinsky put UVA ahead 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-3 win on No. 5 singles. Shaikh added a 6-0, 6-2 win on two before Ziodato finished a 6-2, 6-2 victory on four.
The victory Virginia earns an invitation to the 16-team field at the 37th Annual ITA National Team Indoor Championships, being held Feb. 9-12 in Seattle, Wash.
NOTES
- This will be Virginia’s 12th time competing at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship
- This is the third straight year that the Cavaliers have qualified for indoors and the fourth time in the last five years
- ITA Kickoff Weekend is one of the marquee events of the spring tennis season, bringing together the top 60 men’s and women’s college tennis teams for a weekend of intense competition hosted by 15 men’s and women’s programs from across the country. All 120 competing teams are looking to be just one of the 15 teams from each gender to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships
- With four teams playing at each host site, the winning teams from the opening round will meet in the second round to determine who advances to the 2024 ITA National Team Indoor Championships
- Virginia topped Texas Tech 4-1 on Friday while Georgia Tech posted a 4-3 victory against No. 24 Wisconsin
FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY
“First I’d like to thank all the fans that came out to support us today. We had a great crowd and it made a big difference, so thank you!! I thought this was a really productive weekend for us. We learned a lot and I’m proud of how our team responded when they were challenged. We’re taking care of the little things on and off the court and it showed in our results this weekend.
“We know what we need to work on and are looking forward to getting back to work in preparation for Michigan next weekend and for the chance to compete in Seattle. I’m proud of the team and we are excited to be going back!”
#11 Virginia 4, Georgia Tech 0
Singles competition
- #86 Annabelle Xu (VA) vs. #107 Carol Lee (GT) 6-4, 1-3, unfinished
- #46 Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. #123 Kylie Bilchev (GT) 6-0, 6-2
- Natasha Subhash (VA) vs. Alejandra Cruz (GT) 6-2, 3-4, unfinished
- #88 Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Given Roach (GT) 6-2, 6-2
- Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. Mahak Jain (GT) 6-1, 6-3
- #82 Melodie Collard (VA) vs. Scarlett Nicholson (GT) 4-6, 4-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
- Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) def. Melodie Collard/Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 6-4
- #48 Natasha Subhash/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Kylie Bilchev/Alejandra Cruz (GT) 6-1
- Annabelle Xu/Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Given Roach/Scarlett Nicholson (GT) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,4)
T-2:13 A-120