Women’s Tennis: Virginia comes up short against Texas A&M in NCAA quarterfinal round

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia women’s tennis team suffered a 4-1 loss against Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship on Friday at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla.

Virginia (25-5) won the doubles point, but Texas A&M (26-7) tallied singles victories on courts one, three, five and six to win the match and advance to the semifinals.

Sophomore Meggie Navarro and senior Sara Ziodato opened the match with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles. The Aggies took court two to even the point.

The top court featured a battle between top-10 doubles teams in Virginia juniors Mélodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky, who are ranked No. 8 in the nation, and Mia Kupres and Mary Stoiana, who are No. 7. The match was tied 6-6, requiring a tiebreaker to decide the point. Collard and Chervinsky won it 7-5 to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.

Texas A&M came out firing in singles, taking all six first sets. Sophomore Annabelle Xu and Subhash had the tightest matches with Xu being edged 7-5 in her first set on court two and Subhash taking hers to a tiebreaker.

The Aggies closed out straight-set victories on courts three and one to take a 2-1 lead. They finished off victories on courts six and five within a few minutes of one another to close out the match.

This is the fourth time in program history the Cavaliers have advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals, also making it in 2014, 2016 and 2022.

FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY

“I think that this team really embraced pushing themselves through uncomfortable moments this year. And even though we didn’t win the match today, I look at Mélodie and Elaine and that doubles situation. There was so much pressure on them. The way they handled it and the way they took it on, I think it shows a lot about who they are and what this team has become. And I’m just extremely proud of them. It’s been one of the most fun seasons I’ve ever been a part of. I think the hardest thing is that it’s over.”

“The three seniors are just an amazing group of tennis players but better people. They’ve really helped change the culture and elevate this program to where we are: a top-five team in the country. They do the right thing on and off the court. They’re just amazing people that we’re really gonna miss.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia is the No. 5 seed in the tournament but is ranked No. 6 in the ITA rankings
• Texas A&M was the 13 seed and is ranked No. 13
• The season will continue for Hibah Shaikh, who will be playing in the singles championship next week, and Mélodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky who will play in the doubles draw
• Virginia’s 25 victories this year is a program record
• Virginia has also set the program records this season for consecutive wins (10), consecutive ACC wins (9) and the best start in conference play (9-0)
• Natasha Subhash finishes her career ranked third in the UVA record book in career singles victories (117) and 4th in doubles wins (111)
• Sara Ziodato finishes her Cavalier career with a 79-32 record in singles

TEXAS A&M 4, VIRGINIA 1

Singles
1. #1 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #24 Hibah Shaikh (VA) 6-2, 6-1
2. #67 Annabelle Xu (VA) vs. #88 Carson Branstine (TAMU) 5-7, 2-2, unfinished
3. #26 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. #91 Sara Ziodato (VA) 6-4, 6-1
4. Natasha Subhash (VA) vs. #45 Mia Kupres (TAMU) 6-7 (2-7), 1-2, unfinished
5. Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. #125 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 6-4, 6-4
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. Melodie Collard (VA) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles
1. #8 Elaine Chervinsky/Melodie Collard (VA) def. #7 Mia Kupres/Mary Stoiana (TAMU) 7-6 (5)
2. Carson Branstine/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. #47 Hibah Shaikh/Natasha Subhash (VA) 7-5
3. #88 Meggie Navarro/Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,1,6,5)