After going undefeated in ACC play to secure the top seed in the ACC Championships tournament, No.7 Virginia opened its postseason with a clean 4-1 win over No. 33 Stanford Friday afternoon. The Cavaliers (20-4, 12-0 ACC) had swept the Cardinal (13-10, 7-5 ACC) less than two weeks ago, and again made short work of their opponents, advancing to Saturday’s semifinals.
Virginia quickly took the doubles point to get up 1-0 in the dual, looking unstoppable and playing aggressive, offensive tennis throughout.
Sophomore Isabelle Lacy and freshman Katie Rolls opened the Cavaliers postseason with a short 6-0 win on Line 3. Their Stanford opponents were visibly injured, with senior Emma Sun serving underhanded from the start, so the precise and aggressive pairing of Lacy and Rolls had no issue taking a commanding lead and finishing from there. Through the entire set, their Cardinal opponents were only able to win six points.
Not long afterwards, No. 8 graduate student Melodie Collard and junior Vivian Yang clinched the doubles point with a Line 1 win. Playing impeccable tennis in service games and breaking their opponents when it mattered, Collard and Yang built an early 3-1 lead, which they carried to a 6-2 win.
With No. 27 senior Annabelle Xu and sophomore Martina Genis Salas left unfinished on Line 2, tied at 4-4, the Cavaliers entered singles play looking like the better team, needing wins on three courts to advance.
It did not take long for it to become a 2-0 dual, as the injured Sun was forced to retire from her Court 6 match against Collard after the first set. Collard only lost five points in the first set — four of which came in Sun’s lone game — winning it 6-1 before ending her day early.
Stanford then got their lone point on the board on Court 1, where No. 25 freshman Monika Ekstrand defeated No. 61 Yang in straight sets. Ekstrand earned her 6-1, 6-4 win on the back of her strong service games, never giving Yang the opportunity to take the upper hand and breaking her four times.
On Court 5, No. 122 Genis Salas then put Virginia within one, taking home a 7-5, 6-2 win. Genis Salas overwhelmed her opponent in her return games, forcing 17 break points in the match, and neutralizing junior Sein Myoung’s first serve.
The clincher for the Cavaliers then came on Court 2, as No. 29 Xu iced the dual with a 7-5, 6-3 win. Playing particularly aggressive tennis on the day, Xu was rocketing her baseline shots and going for aces with her first serve. The clinching point, however, came from a more defensive showing, as Xu barely put her opponent’s serve back in play on deuce, before extending the rally with deep balls before a Stanford shot went long, ending the match.
With Xu’s win, Courts 3 and 4 were both left unfinished. No. 83 Rolls had struggled to convert in the first set on Court 3, losing all break points she reached before losing 6-3, but bounced back with a decisive 6-1 in the second. At the time of completion, she was up 5-1 in the second, trailing 15-30 and looking for a break to win. At the same time, No. 114 Lacy was trailing 4-1 in the third on Court 4, having dropped the first 6-4 before taking the second 6-3, playing stellar defensive tennis from the baseline to extend rallies.
Virginia will now advance to the semifinals Saturday, where they will face four-seeded No. 18 Duke at 2 p.m. The Cavaliers bested the Blue Devils (17-6, 10-2 ACC) 4-2 at home when they met in March, and will be looking to go 2-0 on the season against them with a trip to Sunday’s final on the line.
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