No. 5 Virginia’s NCAA run ends in 4-2 quarterfinal loss to Texas

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 5 seed Virginia women’s tennis team had its season end with a 4-2 loss against No. 4 seed Texas in the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Women’s Tennis Team Championship on Friday on the indoor courts of the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.

Texas (24-4), the reigning NCAA Champions, took the doubles point and won three singles matches to advance to face No. 1 North Carolina in the semifinals on Saturday.

The Cavaliers (23-6) opened play by picking up a win on the top doubles court. The third-ranked team of sophomores Emma Navarro and Hibah Shaikh topped No. 11 Peyton Stearns and Allura Zamarripa 6-2. The Longhorns countered with a 6-3 win on court three and then clinched the point with another 6-3 win on court two.

The singles matches included one of the marquee pairings of the NCAA Championship. Navarro, who is the No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Singles Championship, took on Stearns, who is the No. 2 seed. Navarro dominated the match, winning 6-1, 6-0, tying the team scores at 1-1. Navarro, who handed Stearns just her second loss of the season, heads into the Championship with a 24-1 record, having won her last 13 completed matches.

Junior Natasha Subhash, who will also be competing next week in the singles championship, defeated Kylie Collins of Texas 6-2, 6-0 to give UVA a 2-1 lead. Texas tied the match with a straight-set win on court four. Sophomore Elaine Chervinsky and Hibah Shaikh both fought in tight matches on courts three and six, but Chervinsky was edged 6-4, 7-5 and Shaikh 7-5, 6-4 to close out the contest.

Sophomore Sara Ziodato was leading 5-2 in the third set on court six when play was abandoned.

The Cavaliers finish the season with a 23-6 record, tied for the second-most wins in program history.

MATCH NOTES

• The match was played indoors because of windy conditions
• This was the first time that the Cavaliers advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals since 2016 and the first time under head coach Sara O’Leary
• This was the team’s third-ever quarterfinal appearance. Virginia is still looking for its first trip to the semifinals
• Virginia’s No. 5 ranking is the program’s second-highest after being a No. 3 seed in 2014
• Texas is the No. 4 seed in the tournament but is ranked No. 3 in the ITA Team Rankings
• Virginia had two seniors on the team playing their final match for the Cavaliers: Amber O’Dell and Sofia Munera

#4 Texas 4, #5 Virginia 2

Singles
1. #1 Emma Navarro (UVA) def. #2 Peyton Stearns (TEX) 6-1, 6-0
2. #44 Natasha Subhash (UVA) def. #49 Kylie Collins (TEX) 6-2, 6-0
3. #93 Sabina Zeynalova (TEX) def. #72 Elaine Chervinsky (UVA) 6-4, 7-5
4. Charlotte Chavatipon (TEX) def. Sofia Munera (UVA) 6-4, 6-1
5. Allura Zamarripa (TEX) def. Hibah Shaikh (UVA) 7-5, 6-4
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) vs. Sara Ziodato (UVA) 2-6, 7-5, 2-5, unfinished

Doubles
1. #3 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (UVA) def. #11 Peyton Stearns/Allura Zamarripa (TEX) 6-2
2. #67 Charlotte Chavatipon/Kylie Collins (TEX) def. #62 Elaine Chervinsky/Natasha Subhash (UVA) 6-3
3. Sabina Zeynalova/Bella Zamarripa (TEX) def. #73 Sofia Munera/Amber O’Dell (UVA) 6-3