It was an all-Virginia semifinal in the singles bracket of the ITA Atlantic Regional, which ran from Thursday to Tuesday. Senior Annabelle Xu, freshman Katie Rolls, sophomore Martina Genis Salas and junior Vivian Yang had all fought their way through the bracket to sit one win away from the finals. Two bids to November’s NCAA Individual Championships were on the line for the winners.
The Atlantic region is far from college tennis’ best, but teams like Virginia Tech, Maryland, Old Dominion and Liberty all have players capable of making deep runs. The thought of all four spots in the semifinals belonging to Virginia players was definitely a strong possibility, but not a likelihood.
Genis Salas had upset second-seeded Virginia Tech senior Ozlem Uslu in three hard-fought sets the round before, avenging freshman Blair Gill, who had taken the No. 36 ranked player to three sets in a drawn-out match. The first set between Yang and Genis Salas went to a tiebreak, though Yang comfortably took the second for a 7-6, 6-1 victory and a spot in the singles draw at the NCAA Championship.
In the other semifinals match, Xu faced Rolls, who had beaten Old Dominion’s top singles player in three, then sophomore Isabelle Lacy in straight sets. Xu — who entered the weekend the No. 1 seed — punched her own ticket, beating Rolls 6-4, 6-3.
Instead of playing the final, Xu and Yang agreed to be co-champions — an extremely common occurrence in similar situations, as both had qualified already and the title itself is not particularly consequential. A week ago, at the men’s tournament, there was another two-Cavalier final, though sophomores Keegan Rice and Jangjun Kim — doubles finalists as a pairing that morning — opted to play it out.
Three Virginia pairings also took to the court in hopes of securing the lone qualification spot offered — pairings of Xu and Genis Salas, Rolls and Gill, and Lacy and senior Meggie Navarro all advanced to the semifinals. Lacy and Navarro then lost a competitive match to a Terrapin pairing, while Xu, Genis Salas, Rolls and Gill played a mostly-serious three-set match in which every single set went to a tiebreak.
In the finals, Xu’s and Genis Salas’ experience and complimentary playstyles proved to be too much for the No. 47 ranked doubles pairing. Xu and Genis Salas are ranked No. 26 in the country and are 10-1 for the fall season, their sole loss coming to the No. 39 pairing out of Wisconsin.
Graduate student Melodie Collard — reigning NCAA doubles champion — did not compete this weekend, having played one singles and one doubles match at the previous week’s invitational. She and Yang make up Virginia’s top doubles pairing — and the country’s ninth-best — and will have one more opportunity to qualify.
Of the Cavaliers who made the trip, all will make the just over two-hour drive back to Charlottesville having had a strong tournament. The doubles pairings looked excellent — to be expected from a team that values doubles play so much — and in singles, players got a chance to showcase their strengths. Yang, especially, is playing some extremely strong singles, looking borderline unbeatable at times.
It was particularly another great weekend for Virginia’s two freshmen, Rolls and Gill. Both have been playing a lot of tennis this fall and winning a lot against tough opponents. They were a more than competent doubles pairing as well, with a marquee tiebreak win over Old Dominion’s top pairing. For a team that graduated its two top singles players and lost another contributor to the transfer portal, having two freshmen getting that much experience and positive momentum early is something to be excited about.
Xu, Genis Salas and Yang will travel to Orlando Nov. 18-23 for the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Yang participated in the doubles draw last year, representing Pepperdine with partner Savannah Broadus, but this will be her first time in the singles bracket. For Genis Salas and Xu, it will be their second time in the doubles draw, having made it to the second round last year. Xu is now also a three-time singles qualifier.
There is one remaining chance for players not yet qualified for the NCAA Championships to earn a spot — the Nov. 6-9 ITA Sectional in Chapel Hill, N.C. Six singles players, all semifinalists and two quarterfinal playoff winners, will qualify alongside three doubles pairings. Top singles players like Lacy and Genis Salas and doubles pairings including Collard and Yang and Meggie Navarro and Lacy will all be vying for those last remaining bids.
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