The fifth-seeded Virginia women’s tennis team showed well in the ACC tournament, defeating twelfth-seed Florida State and fourth-seed Duke en route to an semifinals appearance, where they were defeated by top-seeded North Carolina, 4-1.
The Cavaliers (16-10, 9-5 ACC) couldn't afford to take any game for granted, as every ACC Tournament match would be highly contested.
Against Florida State (14-13, 4-10 ACC), the match was tied 3-3 with the outcome resting on senior Stephanie Nauta’s shoulder. The match went all the way to the wire in the third set, but Nauta eventually defeated Seminole senior Yukako Noi, 6-1, 6-7, 7-5, and allowed the Cavaliers to pull out a 4-3 win to move on to the quarterfinals.
In the ensuing match against Duke (18-6, 11-3 ACC), seniors Danielle Collins and Julia Elbaba put in top-notched performances at the top two spots on the singles ladder to lead the Cavaliers to a 4-2 victory.
The semifinal against the Tar Heels (28-2, 14-0 ACC) was always going to be a difficult match against the ACC’s top seed — a team that did not fall in conference play this year. The Cavaliers put up a good fight, but couldn’t handle North Carolina, falling, 4-1. The Cavaliers’ lone victory was Elbaba’s 6-1, 6-2 win against senior Whitney Kay.
The Tar Heels defeated second-seeded Miami Sunday to win the ACC title. Virginia’s NCAA Tournament fate will be announced May 3.