Five Cavaliers competed at the ITA Fall National Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Five members of the Virginia women’s tennis team competed at the 2021 ITA National Fall Championships at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California.

Sophomore Hibah Shaikh and freshman Melodie Collard were the runners-up in the consolation doubles bracket.

Junior Natasha Subhash and freshman Elaine Chervinsky, playing in the singles draw, both dropped their openers in the singles bracket. Subhash was edged by Reilly Tran of North Carolina 7-6 (3), 7-5. Chervinsky fell 6-1, 6-2 against No. 2 seed Daria Frayman of Princeton. After dropping into the consolation bracket, Subhash won two matches on Friday, including a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory against No. 67 Kylie Collins of Texas to send her to the bracket’s semifinal where she ultimately fell 6-2, 6-3 against Alexandra Yepifanova of Stanford. Chervinksy lost her consolation opener.

The Cavaliers had two doubles teams competing with both playing tight main draw openers. Subhash and Sofia Munera edged Hannah McColgan and Sydney Pratt of Northwestern 7-5, 5-7, 10-6 to advance in the main draw while Melodie Collard and Hibah Shaikh fell in a third-set super tiebreaker 3-6, 6-2, 10-5 against Connie Ma and Angelica Blake of Stanford. Subhash and Munera played the 8-seed Cameron Morra and Carson Tanguilig in the Round of 16, falling 6-3, 6-2.

Collard and Shaikh dropped into the consolation bracket where they picked up a win against a duo from Yale to advance to that bracket’s quarterfinals. In the quarters, they topped a team from Alabama 6-4, 6-0 to advance to Saturday evening’s semifinal where they faced Iulia Bryzgalova and Marija Curnic of Penn. The Hoos dropped the first set 6-2 but won the second in a 7-2 tiebreaker. In the third set 10-point breaker, Shaikh and Collard won 10-6 to advance to the consolation final. On Sunday, they lost a tight final against Carly Briggs and Marlee Zein of Florida, falling 6-3, 4-6, 11-9.

Subhash and Chervinsky earned spots in the singles draw by virtue of being finalists at the ITA Atlantic Regional. Sophomore Hibah Shaikh and freshman Melodie Collard earned a berth in the doubles draw through their appearance in the regional final. Subash and senior Sofia Munera were an ITA At-Large selection for the doubles championship.

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 fifth year, having replaced the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships beginning in 2017.

Singles Results

32 #88 Riley Tran (North Carolina) def. #8 Natasha Subhash (Virginia) 7-6, 7-5
c16 #8 Natasha Subhash (Virginia) def. Victoria Hu (Princeton) 6-3, 6-0
cqf #8 Natasha Subhash (Virginia) def. #67 Kylie Collins (Texas) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
csf Alexandra Yepifanova (Stanford) def. #8 Natasha Subhash (Virginia) 6-2, 6-3

32 Daria Frayman (Princeton) def. Elaine Chervinsky (Virginia) 6-1, 6-2
c16 Thasaporn Naklo (Iowa State) def. Elaine Chervinsky (Virginia) 7-6, 6-4

Doubles Results

32 #4 Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (Virginia) def. Hannah McColgan/Sydney Pratt (Northwestern) 7-5, 5-7, 10-6
16 Cameron Morra/Carson Tanguilig (North Carolina) def. #4 Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (Virginia) 6-3, 6-2

32 Connie Ma/Angelica Blake (Stanford) def. Melodie Collard/Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) 3-6, 6-2, 10-5
c16 Melodie Collard/Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) def. Jessie Gong/Chelsea Kung (Yale) 6-3, 7-5

c16 Melodie Collard/Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) def. Jessie Gong/Chelsea Kung (Yale) 6-3, 7-5
cqf Melodie Collard/Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) def. Loudmilla Bencheikh/Anne Marie Hiser (Alabama) 6-4, 6-0
csf Melodie Collard/Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) def. Iulia Bryzgalova/Marija Curnic (Penn) 2-6, 7-6, 10-6
cf Carly Briggs/Marlee Zein (Florida) def. Melodie Collard/Hibah Shaikh (Virginia) 6-3, 4-6, 11-9