Virginia Opened Fall Season at the Kitty Harrison Invitational

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –  The Virginia women’s tennis team opened the fall portion of its schedule at the Kitty Harrison Invitational Friday through Sunday, Sept. 12-14, at the Chewning Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Cavaliers combined to tally 13 singles and six doubles victories at the tournament that featured players from North Carolina, Duke, Charlotte, Georgia, and Old Dominion.

Junior transfer Vivian Yang started her Cavalier career strong, picking up a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win against No. 12 Theadora Rabman of North Carolina. She also logged a top-50 win against Liv Hovde of Duke. Senior Annabelle Xu also had a top-15 win with a victory against No. 14 Irina Balus of Duke.

Friday, Sept. 12

The Cavaliers went 5-1 in singles. Senior Annabelle Xu picked up a top-15 win, taking down Irina Balus, who is ranked No. 14 in singles, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7. Sophomore Isabelle Lacy battled for an 18-16 win in her third-set tiebreaker to decide her singles match against Duke’s Claire An.

The top doubles court saw a top-10 showdown with the No. 2 team, Duke’s Liv Hovde and Balus edging No. 9 Melodie Collard and Vivian Yang 6-4.

Saturday, Sept. 13

The Cavaliers went 5-1 in singles, playing against Tar Heels, and picked up a pair of doubles wins. For the second straight day, a Cavalier picked up a top-15 win with Vivian Yang topping No. 12 Thoedora Rabman 6-1, 6-0. Annabelle Xu and Martina Genis Salas both picked up top-50 singles wins.

Sunday, Sept. 14

The Cavaliers closed out the tournament by playing against members of the Charlotte 49ers. Vivian Yang, Isabelle Lacy and Blair Gill all picked up singles victories with the Virginia doubles teams sweeping their three matches.

The tournament is held in honor of Kitty Harrison, the longtime head coach of the Carolina women’s tennis team from 1976 to 1998. Eight of Harrison’s 22 teams were ranked among the top 25 nationally and, under her direction, Carolina won four ACC championships in a row from 1977 to 1980 and finished as the league runner-up four other times.

Up Next

• Select Cavaliers will be competing at the ITA All-American Sept. 20-29 at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.
• The All-American is the first opportunity for players to qualify for this year’s NCAA Individual Championships. Ten singles players will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship (eight main draw quarterfinalists & two feed-in consolation finalists). Four doubles teams will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship through the All-American Championships (four main draw semifinalists)
• Martina Genis Salas and Isabelle Lacy are slated to begin competition in prequalifying. Melodie Collard and Vivian Yang will start in the qualifying tournament. Annabelle Xu has earned a spot in the main draw. Yang and Collard will be in the doubles main draw. Xu and Genis Salas will begin in qualifying doubles

RESULTS
Friday, Sept. 12
Doubles
#2 Liv Hovde/Irina Balus (Duke) def. #9 Melodie Collard/Vivian Yang (VA) 6-4
Meggie Navarro/Katie Rolls (VA) def. #83 Shavit Kimchi/Claire An (Duke) 6-2

Singles
#114 Vivian Yang (VA) def. #49 Liv Hovde (Duke) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
#23 Annabelle Xu (VA) def. #14 Irina Balus (Duke) 3-6, 6-2, 10-7
Martina Genis Salas (VA) def. #61 Shavit Kimchi (Duke) 7-6 (3), 6-1
Isabelle Lacy (VA) def. Claire An (Duke) 6-4, 2-6, 18-16
Blair Gill def. Katie Codd (Duke) 2-6, 6-2, 10-7
Hayden Mulberry (UGA) def. Meggie Navarro (VA) 6-2, 6-0

RESULTS
Saturday, Sept. 13
Doubles
#26 Annabelle Xu/Martina Genis Salas (VA) def. Ange Oby Kajuru/Alanis Hamilton (UNC) 6-3
#9 Melodie Collard/Vivian Yang (VA) def. #33 Tatum Evans/Theadora Rabman (UNC) 6-4
Claire Hill/ Mary Grace Rennard (UNC) def. Meggie Navarro/Katie Rolls (VA)  6-1

Singles
#114 Vivian Yang (VA) def. #12 Theadora Rabman (UNC) 6-1, 6-0
#23 Annabelle Xu (VA) def. #29 Ange Oby Kajuru (UNC) 4-6, 7-5, 11-9
Martina Genis Salas (VA) def. #42 Tatum Evans (UNC) 6-2, 2-0 (ret.)
Alanis Hamilton (UNC) def. Isabelle Lacy (VA) 7-6 (0), 6-3
Katie Rolls (VA) def. #124 Claire Hill (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
Blair Gill (VA) def. Mary Grace Rennard (UNC) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4

Doubles
#9 Melodie Collard/Vivian Yang (VA) def. Sara Suchankova/ Ni Xi (UNCC) 6-3
#26 Annabelle Xu/Martina Genis Salas (VA) def. Andrea Chacon/Lucia Aranda (UNCC) 6-3
Meggie Navarro/Katie Rolls (VA) def. Shona Nakano/Prisca Abbas (UNCC) 7-5

Singles
#114 Vivian Yang (VA) def. Ni Xi (UNCC) 6-4, 6-3
Isabelle Lacy (VA) def. Shona Nakano (UNCC) 6-2, 0-6, 6-2
Sara Suchankova (UNCC) def. Melodie Collard (VA) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
Lucia Aranda (UNCC) def. Katie Rolls (VA) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9)
Blair Gill (VA) def. Prisca Abbas (UNCC) 6-1, 6-7 (2), 7-5
Andrea Chacon (UNCC) def. Meggie Navarro (VA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3