No. 6 Virginia women’s tennis hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, competing against Long Island University and No. 41 Princeton. Although it is currently ranked sixth nationally, Virginia is the 5-seed in the tournament. The Cavaliers (24-4, 12-1 ACC) blanked both the Sharks (11-6, 3-1 NEC) and the Tigers (16-7, 6-1 Ivy), smoothly moving on to the Round of 16 for the fourth straight year. The victories marked the continuation of a 21-match streak of home wins. The Cavaliers will now look to extend that record to 22 at home against No. 41 Vanderbilt Saturday.
Saturday — Virginia 4, Long Island University 0
Virginia hosted the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Long Island University, the same team they defeated last year in the first round. Like last year, the Sharks never stood a chance against the Cavaliers, who are undefeated at home this year, and they fell swiftly in straight-set losses.
To open play, the Cavaliers took to the court for doubles competition. Senior Hibah Shaikh and sophomore Annabelle Xu dominated senior Clara Tardivel and freshman Mia Tsoukalas. The match was the first time this season the two had played together, as Shaikh's usual partner, graduate student Natasha Subhash, was sick. However, the duo's novelty did not show, as they routed Tardivel and Tsoukalas 6-0. No. 88 duo senior Sara Ziodato and sophomore Meggie Navarro clinched the doubles point for Virginia on court two with a 6-2 win over senior Saki Oyama and graduate student Kate Jorjoliani.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, the Cavaliers refused to slow down in singles competition, winning three matches in a quick and clean victory. Junior Melodie Collard finished first, besting Tsouklas on court five with a pair of 6-1 sets. No. 125 junior Elaine Chervinsky similarly followed suit on court four against senior Jasmine Maduel, beating her 6-1, 6-0. No. 91 Ziodato secured Virginia’s victory on court three, prevailing over graduate student Lucy Garrigues 6-3, 6-1.
The win marked the 13th at home this season for the Cavaliers and their 20th consecutive home victory. The win set up Virginia to face No. 41 Princeton in the second-round Charlottesville Regional. Before the match, the Cavaliers had won the last three meetings against the Tigers and were looking to continue their streak.
Sunday — Virginia 4, Princeton 0
The Cavaliers faced more déjà vu in the second round of the tournament, facing Princeton for the third consecutive year. Virginia picked up right where it left off last year, steamrolling the Tigers after getting the ball rolling early during doubles competition before taking every singles victory in straight sets.
No. 8 duo Collard and Chervinsky finished first in the doubles competition, winning 6-0 against junior Leena Bennetto and sophomore Eva Elbaz. Reunited after the first round, the No. 47 duo of Subhash and Shaikh secured the point for Virginia, swiftly beating senior Maia Sung and freshman Bella Chhiv 6-1.
To open singles competition, Collard widened the score to 2-0 against Elbaz, beating her 6-3, 6-2 for her 30th win of the season. On court two, No. 67 Xu competed against Bennetto, pulling the Cavaliers even further ahead when she closed the match 6-2, 6-1.
Ziodato, also notching her 30th win, clinched the victory for the Cavaliers in a straight-set 6-3, 6-2 win against freshman Madeleine Jessup. With the victory, Virginia secured itself as host for the second time in three years of the NCAA Tournament Round of 16. The Cavaliers fell during the 2023 Round of 16 against Michigan on the road but will be boosted this year by home-court advantage. They will need to remain as disciplined in the next round as they were over the weekend if they hope to make it to the NCAA Quarterfinals this time around.
“Princeton gave us a great fight today. They are a really strong team who we’ve seen the last three years at this stage in the tournament. I was really proud of the way that girls came out, especially in doubles,” Coach Sara O’Leary said. “I am just really proud of the squad and the way they came out so focused and disciplined and organized and had great composure throughout.”
Virginia will host No. 31 Vanderbilt in the Round of 16 Saturday. Vanderbilt is unseeded in the tournament, but that does not mean the Cavaliers can rest easy, as the Commodores (14-10, 6-7 SEC) just defeated No. 12 Ohio State and will likely be hungry for more. However, if the Cavaliers can play at the level they have been at home for the last 21 games, the match should end in victory. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and will be live-streamed by Virginia Athletics.
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