Virginia Sweeps FDU to Advance to NCAA Second Round

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship, blanking FDU 4-0 on Friday (May 2) at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.

The Cavaliers (21-5) won the doubles point and the top three singles courts to pick up a quick victory over the Knights (11-8).

Virginia will take on Illinois (15-12) at home on Saturday, May 3, at 4 p.m. in the second round. Admission is free.

Graduate student Sara Ziodato and junior Meggie Navarro opened the match with a 6-0 victory on doubles court three. Seniors Elaine Chervinsky and Melodie Collard clinched the doubles point for Virginia shortly after, picking up a 6-0 win on the top doubles court to put UVA up 1-0.

In singles, the Cavaliers maintained their advantage, winning five of six first sets against the Knights.

All three of the top singles courts ended within just moments of one another. On court two, junior Annabelle Xu put the Hoos up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Anastasia Lim.

Freshman Martina Genis Salas followed with a 6-1, 6-0 win on court three against Alena Kubanova.

Ziodato clinched the win moments after on the top singles court, picking up a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Namie Isago.

MATCH NOTES

• Virginia is the No. 7 seed in the tournament and is ranked No. 7 in the ITA Team Rankings
• The Cavaliers improve to 4-0 all-time against FDU. All four meetings have come in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Charlottesville Regional
• Martina Genis Salas logged her seventh straight singles win (in completed matches)
• Freshman Karolina Kozakova appeared in her first singles match since February 8, playing on court four
• Elaine Chervinsky and Melodie Collard improve to 31-3 on the season in doubles
• Illinois is ranked No. 38 in the ITA Team Rankings
• The Cavaliers lead the all-time series with the Illini 3-2. Virginia has won each of the last three matchups, including the most recent meeting in 2019
• Illinois last defeated Virginia in 1998

SATURDAY MATCH INFORMATION

• Admission is free
• The match will be covered in the Cracked Racquets Cross Court Cast on their YouTube Channel
• Individual court streams will also be available on VirginiaSports.com
• Live scoring will be available for the match
• The match is scheduled to be played on the outdoor courts. Please monitor UVA Women’s Tennis social media accounts for any weather-related updates

#7 Virginia 4, FDU 0
Singles competition

1. #27 Sara Ziodato (VA) def. ISAGO, Namie (FDU) 6-1, 6-0
2. #34 Annabelle Xu (VA) def. LIM, Anastasia (FDU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Martina Genis Salas (VA) def. KUBANOVA, Alena (FDU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Karolina Kozakova (VA) vs. KIM, Yelena (FDU) 6-0, 4-1, unfinished
5. Melodie Collard (VA) vs. SILVA, Valentina (FDU) 4-6, 2-0, unfinished
6. Blanca Pico Navarro (VA) vs. KOSTSINA, Katsiaryna (FDU) 6-4, 3-0, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. #3 Elaine Chervinsky/Melodie Collard (VA) def. ISAGO, Namie/KIM, Yelena (FDU) 6-0
2. #41 Martina Genis Salas/Annabelle Xu (VA) vs. LIM, Anastasia/KUBANOVA, Alena (FDU) 5-2, unfinished
3. Sara Ziodato/Meggie Navarro (VA) def. SILVA, Valentina/KOSTSINA, Katsiaryna (FDU) 6-0

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,3,1)
T-1:32