Women’s Tennis: Cavaliers advance to ITA Indoors in Seattle

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 8 Virginia women’s tennis team picked up a 4-1 victory against South Carolina on Saturday in the championship match of ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

With the victory, Virginia (4-0) earns an invitation to compete at the 2023 ITA National Indoor Team Championships, being held Feb. 10-13 in Seattle, Wash.

The match began with a tight doubles point in which all three courts went to tiebreakers. Both Julia Adams and Mélodie Collard on court one and Natasha Subhash and Annabelle Xu on court two faced set points trailing 5-3, and both won deuce points to keep their matches alive. Adams and Collard won their tiebreaker 7-2 before Subhash and Xu followed with a 7-4 win in their breaker to clinch the doubles point.

In singles, Elaine Chervinsky gave UVA a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-3 win on court three. No. 20 Ayana Akli got the Gamecocks (1-3) on the board with a straight-set win on the top court to make it 2-1. After winning a tight first set on court four, 6-4, Sara Ziodato went 6-0 in her second set to put the Cavaliers up 3-1. Hibah Shaikh battled through a tiebreaker, 9-7, to decide her first set, and then closed out the victory with a 6-2 win in the second against Alice Otis on court six.

Subhash was leading 5-1 in the third set on court two when play was suspended.

This is the second straight year the Cavaliers have qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. They will be among the 16 teams competing for the first national title of the dual match season next month.

The Cavaliers picked up a 4-1 victory against Washington State (2-1) on Friday in the opening round (results below).

#8 VIRGINIA 4, SOUTH CAROLINA 1
Singles
1. #20 Ayana Akli (SC) def. #34 Julia Adams (VA) 6-1, 6-3
2. #90 Natasha Subhash (VA) vs. Gracie Mulville (SC) 4-6, 6-2, 5-1, unfinished
3. #50 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. Elise Mills (SC) 6-1, 6-3
4. Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Ana Cruz (SC) 6-4, 6-0
5. #62 Annabelle Xu (VA) vs. Misa Malkin (SC) 6-4, 1-6, 2-2, unfinished
6. #77 Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Alice Otis (SC) 7-6 (9-7), 6-2

Doubles
1. Julia Adams/Melodie Collard (VA) def. Ayana Akli/Gracie Mulville (SC) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Natasha Subhash/Annabelle Xu (VA) def. Allie Gretkowski/McKenna Schaefbauer (SC) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Elaine Chervinsky/Sara Ziodato (VA) vs. Elise Mills/Alice Otis (SC) 6-6, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (3,1,4,6)

#8 VIRGINIA 4, WASHINGTON STATE 1 (FRIDAY)
Singles
1. Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. #34 Julia Adams (VA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. #90 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Sara Ziodato (VA) vs. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 4-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
4. #62 Annabelle Xu (VA) vs. Elyse Tse (WSU) 3-6, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
5. #77 Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. #98 Melodie Collard (VA) def. Stefaniia Mikhailova (WSU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles
1. Julia Adams/Melodie Collard (VA) def. Maxine Murphy/Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-4
2. Natasha Subhash/Annabelle Xu (VA) def. Fifa Kumhom/Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 6-3
3. Elaine Chervinsky/Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Elyse Tse/Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,1,5)