Isabelle Lacy had been finding her spots all day. The No. 119-ranked sophomore had played clean, confident tennis for the entirety of No. 7 Virginia’s tournament matchup against No. 22 Washington.
She was up 5-4, 40-0 in the second set, having swept the first 6-0. One more shot would put it away, and send the Cavaliers (23-5, 15-0 ACC) to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Lacy tossed the ball above her head, firing her serve wide, to the outside corner of the service box. Perfectly placed, her opponent could just look at it, as Lacy raised her arms and let out a triumphant “come on.”
Less than 10 minutes early, Virginia had just a 1-0 lead on the Huskies (20-6, 9-4 Big Ten), having won a razor-thin doubles point — in part due to Lacy’s stellar play.
After No. 28 senior Annabelle Xu and sophomore Martina Genis Salas had lost their doubles set 6-1 on Court 2, the Cavaliers had evened it on Court 1 — where No. 10 graduate student Melodie Collard and junior Vivian Yang pulled away with a 3-0 run to win 6-2.
On Court 3, Lacy and freshman Katie Rolls had worked their way back from a 4-2 deficit, with Lacy serving on deuce to try and get up 5-4. Exchanging backhands with her Washington opponent, Lacy broke open the rally to put her and Rolls four points away from winning the set. With both Cavaliers playing immaculate at the net, the pairing then broke the Huskies duo to get a much needed 1-0 lead for Virginia.
“Their composure was so good out there,” Coach Sara O’Leary said. “They stayed so together. You really thought they wanted to be in that moment. They weren't afraid of it. They stepped up to it. I am really proud of them. I think that really set the tone going into singles.”
That doubles point proved quickly to be the difference, as Virginia and Washington each won three of six first sets — the Cavaliers winning on the three bottom courts, and the Huskies taking the three top courts.
Genis Salas struck first on Court 6, defeating her former teammate in sophomore Karolina Kozakova — who transferred to Washington after one season in Charlottesville. Staying poised on important points, Genis Salas broke Kozakova with a win on deuce at 4-4 in the second set, then held her serve on deuce in the next game to finalize a 6-1, 6-4 win and put Virginia up 2-0.
Minutes later, Collard made it 3-0. After an even start to the first set, Collard broke away to win it 6-3, and carried that momentum into the second, getting up 5-1 then breaking her opponent again to end her match. At the time, Lacy was up 5-4, 30-0.
Shortly afterwards, Lacy’s laser of a serve flew by her opponent on Court 4, ending the dual and confirming the Cavaliers’ spot in next weekend’s Super Regional.
At the time, Virginia trailed on all three top courts, making that doubles win all the more impactful. On Court 1, No. 65 Yang had lost the first set 6-2, and was up 5-3 in the second when the match was called. In a tough match against a defensively-sound opponent, No. 28 Xu was up 3-2 in the second, having dropped the first 6-2. No. 84 Rolls had only just started her second set, having lost the first in an 8-6 tiebreak.
Next weekend, the Cavaliers will host No. 10 Louisiana State for the Charlottesville Super Regional, with a spot in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on the line. The Tigers (21-9, 8-7 SEC) beat Stephen F. Austin and Rice in their regional and have a stacked lineup with four ranked singles players and two ranked pairings. With a strong top two in No. 9 sophomore Cadence Brace and No. 21 sophomore Kayla Cross, Louisiana State’s strength is in the middle of the order, with an 85 percent win rate on Court 3, 70 percent on Court 4 and 72 percent on Court 5.
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