In Sunday’s ACC Championship final, No. 7 Virginia faced a No. 13 NC State squad that they had met — and defeated — just one week prior. The two teams played the same doubles pairings on the same spots, and the same singles lineup top to bottom, but, this time, the Wolfpack (22-7, 10-2 ACC) came out on top.
For the Cavaliers (21-5, 12-0 ACC), the loss was a bittersweet end to a special run. After ending the season on a 13-match win streak that ended in the program’s first ever outright ACC regular-season title, Virginia won its first two matches of the conference tournament, looking poised to lift its third ever title. Fueled by stellar play in doubles and across the singles lineup, the Cavaliers entered the day as favorites, but NC State quickly showed its mettle en route to a title game sweep.
The Wolfpack, coming off another upset win over No. 6 North Carolina, opened the dual with a 1-0 advantage after securing a competitive doubles point. Virginia opened with its lone win on the day on Court 2, as No. 28-ranked senior Annabelle Xu and junior Martina Genis Salas exchanged breaks with their NC State opponents before running away for a 6-1 win. Xu and Genis Salas, now in their second year as partners, have yet to lose in the month of April, and capitalized well off of their opponents’ mistakes.
From then on, however, it was downhill for the Cavaliers, as the Wolfpack earned 6-4 wins on both other doubles courts. First, No. 3-ranked junior Gabriella Broadfoot and freshman Victoria Osuigwe reversed last weekend’s result on Court 1, breaking No. 8 graduate student Melodie Collard and junior Vivian Yang’s serve in the final game to force a decider on Court 3. Then sophomore Mia Slama and freshman Lavinia Tanasie defeated sophomore Isabelle Lacy and freshman Katie Rolls to take the doubles point, playing impeccably off their first serves and hitting clean winners to put NC State up 1-0.
Needing three wins to secure the title, the Wolfpack then won half of the six first sets, before winning all three of those matches in straight sets to secure the sweep.
First, on Court 5, Osuigwe took down No. 122 Genis Salas, playing aggressively off the Spanish second-year's serve in the first set, before playing a more consistent second set to win the match 6-3, 6-2. When the two met last Sunday, Genis Salas defeated Osuigwe in three, coming back from a dropped first set to score Virginia’s first singles point.
The Wolfpack then made it a 3-0 dual on Court 2, where No. 52 senior Anna Zyryanova defeated No. 29 Xu. The two did not finish their match when they played last week, but Zyryanova played confident and smooth tennis Sunday, winning 50 percent of break points and making fewer unforced errors than Xu. After winning the first set 6-3, Zyryanova got an early break at 1-1 which gave her the cushion to win the second set 6-2.
NC State’s final opponent came on Court 1, in a reversal of the Cavaliers’ win last weekend — when then-No. 81 Yang defeated then-No. 39 Slama in two competitive sets to clinch the regular season title — No. 43 Slama earned the Wolfpack’s trophy with a straight set victory. After the first set went to a tiebreak, Slama went on a 6-2 run to set up set point, ultimately winning it 7-4. The second set was far less close, a departure from the prior three which had all been settled in tiebreaks, as Slama neutralized Yang’s serve and played well off her own, closing out the dual with a 6-2 victory.
At that time, Virginia was on the verge of scoring its first point on Court 6, as Collard was on match point, leading 6-2 in a tiebreak after taking the first set 6-4. On Court 4, No. 114 Lacy was tied at 2-2 in the third set in her rematch with No. 73 Tanasie, having won the first 6-2 but lost the second 7-5. On Court 3, No. 83 Rolls was trailing 4-1 in the third — she had won the first against No. 53 Broadfoot 6-4, but lost the second 6-2.
"Credit to NC State,” Coach Sara O’Leary said. “I thought that they played really well, played with a lot of courage today, and it was just a tough match. I'm really proud of my team and what they've done this entire ACC season, and put themselves in position to be able to play in the final today. And I think we can learn a lot from this match.”
The Cavaliers will now turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament, with first- and second-round matchups set for May 1-3. Seeding and matchups will be determined on a selection show held April 27.
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