Women’s Tennis: Cavaliers hang on for 4-3 win over Miami to move on to ACC semis

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Posted on Friday, Apr. 21, 2023, 3:48 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

The Virginia women’s tennis team picked up a 4-3 victory against Miami in a quarterfinal match at the 2023 ACC Championship on Friday at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.

The Cavaliers (18-5, 10-3 ACC) won the doubles point and jumped out to a 3-1 lead against the Hurricanes, but Miami came back to tie the match 3-3. Freshman Annabelle Xu won the clinching point for the Cavaliers, winning a tiebreaker 8-6 to decide her second set on court four.

The 4th-seeded Hoos advance to face 1-seed North Carolina (28-0, 12-0 ACC) on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the semifinals.

“I’m really proud of the composure, toughness and belief we played with today,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “Miami is a very good team who always makes you earn the win. No matter the situation in each individual match, we stayed present and that paid off. I’m proud of the way Annabelle handled the moment of being the last match on the court. She stayed composed and confident in the work she’s put in all year, and I’m happy she got the opportunity to be in that situation because it’s an amazing experience when you take it on the right way, and you have teammates who love and support you. It was a good team win today but now our focus is on recovery and our match tomorrow. Go Hoos!”

Xu and Ziodato opened the match with a 6-3 win against Audrey Boch-Collins and Mia Mack on doubles court three. Natasha Subhash and Elaine Chervinsky clinched the point with a 6-3 win against Alexa Noel and Mia Mack on court two.

Ziodato cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win against Maya Tahan on singles court six to give UVA a 2-0 lead. Miami got on the board with a win by Noel, ranked No. 5 in singles, on the top court. Shaikh closed out a 6-4, 6-0 win against Mack on five to give UVA a 3-1 lead.

Miami (15-6, 9-4) won two close second sets on courts two and three, taking the first 7-5 and the second in a tiebreaker, 8-6, to tie the match.

Xu had edged Boch-Collins 6-4 in the first set, but the two were tied 6-6 in the second, forcing a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was tied 6-6 before Xu won two straight points to win 8-6 and clinch the victory for the Cavaliers.

Miami had won the regular-season meeting between the two teams 6-1. The Hurricanes were the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Virginia is ranked No. 10 in the latest ITA Rankings and Miami is No. 13.

With the win, the Cavaliers advance to the semifinals for the third-straight year and will face the Tar Heels in the semis for the third-straight year. Last year, UVA Cavaliers upset No. 1 North Carolina 4-2 in the semifinals to advance to the championship match where they fell 4-1 against Duke.

Saturday’s semifinal will stream online on ACC Network Extra. ACCNX is available to stream through the ESPN app. It is available through participating TV providers that carry ACC Network.

VIRGINIA 4, MIAMI 3

Singles
1. #5 Alexa Noel (UM) def. #51 Natasha Subhash (VA) 6-2, 6-2
2. #105 Daevenia Achong (UM) def. #54 Julia Adams (VA) 6-3, 7-5
3. #83 Isabella Pfennig (UM) def. Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
4. #77 Annabelle Xu (VA) def. Audrey Boch-Collins (UM) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
5. #120 Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Mia Mack (UM) 6-0, 6-4
6. Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Maya Tahan (UM) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. #13 Melodie Collard/Julia Adams (VA) vs. #44 Daevenia Achong/Maya Tahan (UM) 5-5, unfinished
2. #34 Natasha Subhash/Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. #29 Alexa Noel/Isabella Pfennig (UM) 6-3
3. Sara Ziodato/Annabelle Xu (VA) def. Audrey Boch-Collins/Mia Mack (UM) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,5,2,3,4)