Cavaliers hit the road to face top-ranked UNC, third-ranked NC State this weekend
Posted on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, 5:59 pm
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Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Virginia’s Rosie Johanson prepares to serve (Photo: UVA Athletics).
The No. 13 Virginia women’s tennis team hits the road this weekend for a pair of top-5 matchups, facing No. 1 North Carolina on Friday and No. 3 NC State on Saturday.
Fans can keep up with the action in both matches through live stats and live streams linked at VirginiaSports.com or by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWomensTennis).
CAVALIERS IN THE TEAM RANKINGS
After splitting matches last weekend with a 4-3 loss at No. 11 Georgia Tech and a 6-1 win over No. 37 Clemson at home, the Cavaliers find themselves at No. 13 in this week’s Oracle/ITA Women’s Tennis team rankings. Virginia (8-3, 2-1 ACC) has been ranked in the top 25 every week this season.
VIRGINIA PLAYERS IN THE INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
The singles and doubles rankings did not change this week as the ITA is currently adjusting the individual rankings in two-week increments. The individual rankings move to a weekly update at the end of March.
The Cavaliers continue to have four players in the latest ITA singles rankings with freshman Natasha Subhash leading the way. Subhash comes into the week ranked No. 15 in singles, while junior Rosie Johanson has moved up to No. 35 in the rankings. Sophomores Amber O’Dell and Sofia Munera round out the ranked singles players for Virginia at No. 89 and No. 95, respectively.
In doubles, the duo of O’Dell and senior Chloe Gullickson come in ranked as the No. 41 tandem nationally.
VIRGINIA FACES TOUGH EARLY SCHEDULE
The Cavaliers have played a tough schedule through the first nine matches with six matches against top-25 opponents. It doesn’t get any easier as the Cavaliers face a pair of top-five opponents with road contests at top-ranked North Carolina and fourth-ranked NC State this weekend. In all, the Cavaliers will face nine top-25 opponents through the first 13 matches of the season.
After this weekend, the Cavaliers have 10 matches remaining on the regular-season schedule with eight of them against opponents ranked in the ITA team rankings (which includes the top 50 teams) – five of them are currently against teams ranked in the top 18 nationally.
A LOOK AT NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels enter the weekend with an unblemished record of 14-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC after winning the ITA National Team Indoor Championship and picking up conference wins at then No. 2 Florida State and No. 27 Miami last weekend.
North Carolina has seven players ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings, including three players in the top 10. Cameron Morra, Alexa Graham and Sara Daavettila hold down the five, six and seven spots, respectively. In doubles, the Tar Heels have the fourth and fifth ranked tandems nationally.
A LOOK AT NC STATE
NC State enters the weekend with a 15-2 record and a 2-0 mark in ACC play after picking up wins over No. 32 Notre Dame and Louisville last weekend. The two losses on the season came at the hands of then seventh-ranked Texas and against the Tar Heels in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. NC State will host No. 12 Wake Forest on Friday before welcoming the Cavaliers to town on Sunday.
In singles, the Wolfpack have four players in the national rankings with three in the top-50 players. Alana Smith leads the way with a ranking of No. 16, while Anna Rogers is No. 32 and Adriana Reami is No. 37 nationally. In doubles, NC State is led by the second-ranked duo of Rogers and Smith, while the pairing of Jaeda Daniel and Rami is ranked No. 13 nationally.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend’s ACC road trip, the Cavaliers will return home to host Syracuse and No. 2 Florida State in a pair of matches. Virginia will face the Orange on Friday, March 6, at 2 p.m. before playing the Seminoles at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 8. Both matches are scheduled to be played at the Snyder Tennis Center.
