The no. 47 Virginia women’s tennis team had an action packed spring break, competing in six duals in the nine-day span. After opening this marathon stretch with a dominating 7-0 victory against Maryland, the Cavaliers (6-6, 1-0 ACC) dropped two matches — a tight, hard-fought 4-3 hiccup at Baylor and, for the second time this season, a three-point loss to No. 3 Texas A&M. Virginia then rallied to defeat Michigan State, No. 34 Yale and Tulane to win the Blue Gray Tennis Classic this past weekend in Montgomery, Ala.
The match against the Terrapins (5-6, 0-2 ACC) featured several fabulous performances by Virginia’s top players, including senior Erin Vierra blanking Maryland freshman Gabriela Srodowski 6-0, 6-0 in the no. 4 singles slot.
Virginia began play at the Blue Gray invitational against Michigan State (10-6, 0-1 Big 10). The Cavaliers wasted no time advancing through the round, as freshman Julia Elbaba paced the team to 4-0 shut-out. No. 13 Elbaba swiftly took care of business at the no. 2 singles spot by defeating Spartan sophomore Catherine Parenteau 6-1, 6-2.
The next round of the tournament saw Virginia pitted against No. 34 Yale (10-2, 0-0 Ivy). The Cavaliers jumped to an early lead, and the team’s success was again paced by its freshmen. Stephanie Nauta dominated 6-1, 6-1 in her matchup against freshman Madeline Hamilton, and Elbaba again performed well, earning Virginia a point in doubles competition with junior partner Li Xi by edging Yale’s Hanna Yu and Courtney Amos 9-8. Yale staged a furious rally to tie the score at 3-3 in singles, but Vierra kept Virginia’s title hopes alive with a 7-6, 6-4 triumph against Bulldog freshman Amber Li.
Once it reached the final round, Virginia rolled to its second title at the tournament in as many years. The Cavaliers took care of business against Tulane (10-6, 3-1 C-USA), handily defeating the Green Wave 4-1. Capping a strong week of performances, Nauta went 6-4, 6-1 on the first singles court against junior Klara Vyskocilova. Nauta and Vierra also posted a point in doubles, crushing Vyskocilova and freshman partner Ipek Birol 8-1. After a banner weekend, Nauta earned the Blue Gray Classic’s MVP award.
Virginia will square off at home against conference foes Boston College and Virginia Tech March 22 and 23.
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