No. 5 Virginia Tops UNC to Advance to ITA Indoor Semifinals
EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 5 Virginia women’s tennis team came back to defeat No. 8 North Carolina 4-3 to advance to the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Saturday (Feb. 8) at the Combe Tennis Center.
Graduate student Sara Ziodato won the clincher for the Cavaliers (8-1), saving three match points to complete the comeback against the Tar Heels (7-2) and send Virginia to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
With the win, Virginia will face No. 1 Georgia at 4:30 or 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday (Feb. 10) at the Combe Tennis Center.
North Carolina struck first in the match, winning on doubles courts two and three to take an early 1-0 lead.
Freshman Isabelle Lacy responded with a dominant performance on court three, taking down No. 20 Carson Tanguilig 6-2, 6-3 to tie the match.
Senior Melodie Collard rallied from behind in each set on court six to take her match 7-5, 7-5, giving Virginia a 2-1 lead.
North Carolina tied the match with a straight set victory on the top court. Moments later, the Tar Heels took the lead back with a 6-3, 7-5 win on court five.
Freshman Karolina Kozakova split sets on court four with Alanis Hamilton but fell behind in the third set. Down 5-4 in the third, Kozakova saved three match points on her serve to extend the match. In the next game, she got the crucial break and held on to win 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, sending the match to the final court.
The match came down to court two. Ziodato won a narrow first set against Theadora Rabman 7-6 (7), but Rabman responded to take the second set 6-2 and send the match to a decider. In the third set, Rabman took a 5-3 lead before Ziodato stormed back. Ziodato saved two match points to break Rabman and saved another match point in the next game to even the match at 5-5. The match went to a tiebreak, and Ziodato went on win the last four points of the tiebreaker to take the match 7-6 (7), 2-6, 7-6 (3), clinching the win for the Cavaliers.
FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY
“I’m so proud of our team and the way they responded after losing the doubles point. We talked a lot about just quieting the noise, staying focused on your own court and choosing to be fearless. For Karo and Zio to be the last two on and down multiple match points and just choose to take on the moment and give themselves a chance shows a lot about the belief and heart of this team. Zio and Karo were the last two on, but every player on our team made such a positive impact in that match whether they were on the court or off the court cheering on their teammates. It was such a fun match to be a part of and now it’s time to recover and prepare for Monday. Go Hoos!”
MATCH NOTES
- Virginia won their second straight this season against North Carolina, also topping the Tar Heels 4-3 in Charlottesville in January
- Sara Ziodato picked up the highest ranked win of her career, topping No. 10 Theadora Rabman
- Ziodato improves to a perfect 7-0 in dual matches this season. Melodie Collard improves to 7-1
- Freshman Isabelle Lacy recorded the first ranked win of her career, defeating No. 20 Carson Tanguilig
- Senior Elaine Chervinsky was a late scratch from the lineup
#5 Virginia 4, #8 North Carolina 3
Singles competition
- #24 Reese Brantmeier (UNC) def. #27 Annabelle Xu (VA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
- #33 Sara Ziodato (VA) def. #10 Theadora Rabman (UNC) 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 7-6 (7-3)
- Isabelle Lacy (VA) def. #20 Carson Tanguilig (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
- Karolina Kozakova (VA) def. Alanis Hamilton (UNC) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
- #31 Tatum Evans (UNC) def. Martina Genis Salas (VA) 6-3, 7-5
- #64 Melodie Collard (VA) def. Claire Hill (UNC) 7-5, 7-5
Doubles competition
- #29 Reese Brantmeier/Alanis Hamilton (UNC) vs. Karolina Kozakova/Melodie Collard (VA) 5-3, unfinished
- #5 Susanna Maltby/Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. #23 Martina Genis Salas/Annabelle Xu (VA) 6-3
- #26 Tatum Evans/Theadora Rabman (UNC) def. #73 Meggie Navarro/Sara Ziodato (VA) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,6,1,5,4,2)
T-3:40
