Coach Sara O’Leary, in her eight seasons leading Virginia, is no stranger to excellence. She is a two-time conference coach of the year and has seen the program reach seven NCAA Tournaments, including two quarterfinals appearances.
As a result, she has coached her fair share of excellent players, each with their own X-Factors and idiosyncrasies. The nine players on her fall roster are proof of just that, each having their own styles and skillsets that brought them to one of the best programs in college tennis.
But with the highest possible stakes you can imagine for a tennis match, what player does O’Leary want on the court? The answer to that might vary depending on the day, or even the opponent on the other side of the net. But were O’Leary to get to build that player instead of choosing just one, whose skills would her perfect player have?
In an interview with The Cavalier Daily, looking at a printed list of nine traits with the flexibility to add her own, she answered that very question.
Serve — Vivian Yang
“Very, very good serve,” O’Leary said. “She can hit flat, she can hit slice, she can hit kick and she's lefty. So it's definitely challenging to return her serve.”
A lefty from Auckland, New Zealand, junior Vivian Yang is able to hit her serves at angles that can throw off her opponents, and converts that pressure with powerful forehands and confident net play. The first of three new faces on the team, Yang transferred from Pepperdine over the offseason after being one of the Waves’ top players last spring.
Though a dependable point-scorer in singles, Yang’s calling card is her doubles play, ending last season ranked No. 18 with her partner at the time, junior Savannah Broadus. She sits at 4-1 this fall in singles and 3-2 in doubles, where she is expected to be a big time contributor as well.
Return — Blanca Pico Navarro
“She's just very solid in return games,” O’Leary said. “Just makes her opponents play. Doesn't try to do anything flashy, but [she has a] very high percentage with her return.”
Junior Blanca Pico Navarro’s “solid and steady” return game earns her the nod for one of the most important categories in tennis. Winning a match generally requires winning a few return games, which Pico Navarro excels at. She consistently hits strong returns on both the forehand and backhand side to keep her opponents on their toes and extend the point.
Pico Navarro has not played yet this season, but she logged an impressive 7-2 record on Courts 5 and 6 as a sophomore. The Spanish third-year’s stellar return game is at least partially responsible for those results, which will have her in the mix to be one of the team’s top singles players come spring.
Forehand — Martina Genis Salas
“She can hit it anywhere,” O’Leary said. “She can hit heavy. She can set the point up really well with her forehand. It's just a physical shot. Her whole game is based around her forehand.”
Not many college players can hit the ball quite like southpaw sophomore Martina Genis Salas. Think about it — how hard does a player have to hit a forehand for it to get called a “physical shot” in a non-contact sport?
Playing all over the lineup, Genis Salas was tied as Virginia’s leading points-scorer in the spring, going 15-8 in singles, complemented by an equally impressive 17-6 doubles record. She played some of her best tennis towards the end of the season, going undefeated in singles through the Cavaliers’ last 12 matches and could be due for a breakout second season on a team that lost two of its top singles players to graduation in May.
Backhand — Isabelle Lacy
“She's just very confident on that side,” O’Leary said. “And you can see it when she approaches that backhand side, she wants backhand.”
Watching sophomore Isabelle Lacy, her comfort with her backhand stands out. While other players hunt for opportunities to move around the ball in search of stronger forehands, the Londoner moves calmly on the baseline, capable of hitting impactful backhands on the move and winning any point with that shot.
After joining the team in January, Lacy went 6-5 in singles on the season, including a 3-0 record on Court 3. Already, she is off to a strong start to the season with a 4-2 singles record, making it to the pre-qualifying finals in the recent ITA All-American championships.
Movement — Kaitlyn Rolls
“She’s efficient, she anticipates well, she can move forward,” O’Leary said. “[She’s] very comfortable out on court with her movement.”
Movement in tennis is a lot more than just speed — players putting themselves in the best position to win points, games and matches often asks more for efficient and deliberate movement than simply speed. Freshman Kaitlyn Rolls has the best of both worlds in that regard, being a fast player whose anticipation and general fitness earned her this selection.
After a decorated Juniors career, Rolls arrived on Grounds over the summer as the second of three new Cavaliers. She has started her rookie season out well, going 4-1 in singles and 3-2 in doubles, her first singles victory being a straight set win over the No. 124 player in the preseason rankings.
Net Game — Melodie Collard
“She's the best net player I think I've ever coached,” O’Leary said. “Hands down. She anticipates so well. She's not afraid. She has great hands, just unbelievable.”
A calling card of Virginia women’s tennis and O’Leary’s style is the high value placed on doubles play and the net game. With that in mind, O’Leary’s praise of graduate student Melodie Collard should not go unnoticed.
The reigning NCAA doubles champion, Collard attacks the net with conviction, forcing opponents to play at her pace. This season, she has already earned the 100th doubles win of her collegiate career and is 19 singles wins away from 100 there as well — a rare milestone that, assuming her continued health, she could reach in spring.
Overhead — Meggie Navarro
“She just owns it,” O’Leary said. “Once she gets that shot, [there’s] just no hesitation. She's so confident in her overhead. And she gets a lot of them in doubles, so she's up in that a lot.”
After being handed a worksheet — with some room for flexibility — O’Leary decided to add the overhead as a skill her perfect player would need to have, and who better for that than senior Meggie Navarro?
Accruing a 42-23 doubles record in her three years as a Cavalier and starting her senior year off 4-2, Navarro is dangerous at the net — searching for the overhead winner whenever the opportunity presents itself. Shining in doubles play, Navarro partnered with then-graduate student Sara Ziodato last year, going 14-8 on the season and 8-4 in spring.
Tennis IQ — Annabelle Xu
“I think Annabelle just understands the game really well,” O’Leary said. “[She] sees the court well, and just has such great experience playing professional tournaments, Junior Grand Slams all over the world.”
Over the summer, senior Annabelle Xu played a handful of tournaments back to back — in lovely destinations such as the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong and Saskatoon, Canada — in order to see if life on the professional tour was for her. She decided that it was.
Ranked the No. 23 singles player in the NCAA, Xu has started her senior season 2-2 in singles and 3-1 in doubles. The Montrealer has nearly every shot in the book and uses that versatility well, demonstrating regularly how she has logged an exceptional 62-28 career record in singles.
Attitude — Blair Gill
“[She] just shows up every day, ready to work, excited to get better, doesn't complain,” O’Leary said. “[She’s] just such a hard worker and is such a good teammate to everybody around her.”
It is definitely a good first impression for a freshman to reach Grounds and immediately win over the staff with her work ethic and mentality. Freshman Blair Gill, a five-star recruit out of Lynchburg and the Commonwealth’s top recruit, is a confident baseliner who O’Leary said never shies away from more chances to train.
Gill has gone 6-0 in singles in the two invitational tournaments she has played this semester — already an incredibly strong start to her college career. As one of the three new faces on the team, she will have more opportunities to showcase that work ethic and attitude as the fall season progresses.
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