The Virginia women’s tennis team had a busy weekend, taking on Ole Miss Saturday and Wake Forest Sunday as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers (1-2, 1-0 ACC) battled the Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC) Saturday afternoon and fell to Ole Miss 4-3 in a tightly contested affair.
Virginia started off slowly as the Rebels gained the doubles point to start the match, but Virginia began to make up ground once singles play began. The Cavaliers came back to take a 3-2 lead after freshman Rosie Johanson, freshman Chloe Gullickson and sophomore Meghan Kelley all won their singles matches.
However, the Rebels were able to grab the last two singles matches of the day and snatch the victory, earning the right to face No. 19 LSU Sunday afternoon for an opportunity to clinch an ITA National Team Indoor Championships berth.
Kelley talked about how Virginia was able to play high quality tennis against Ole Miss, despite an ultimately losing effort.
“I think yesterday we played a great match, both teams did,” Kelley said. “We had a lot of good things and we have some things to work on still — we have some new people that are still adjusting to everything that’s new, which is totally understandable.”
Virginia faced Wake Forest in a non-conference matchup Sunday morning in the consolation match. The Cavaliers and Demon Deacons battled it out, with Virginia ultimately falling to Wake Forest 4-0.
Wake Forest came out of the gate firing, picking up the doubles point and three singles victories en route to a decisive victory.
Coach Mark Guilbeau talked about how Saturday’s hard fought loss against Ole Miss might have played a role in Virginia’s loss to Wake Forest Sunday.
“I think yesterday’s match with Ole Miss was so good — so tough — that honestly it affected today,” Guilbeau said. “And this is the first time that’s happened. Our kids have been so tough on the second and third days, it’s very fair and real that sometimes that tough of a battle yesterday, it kind of had an effect.”
Despite back to back losses this weekend for the Cavaliers, Guilbeau recognized there were positives to be taken from both matches, including the team’s ability to stay united.
“Win or lose, you learn a lot. I think the main thing we’re trying to learn right now is if this is a little bit of a bump ... This is the most important time for us to support each other, care for each other, be real and honest,” Guilbeau said. “You learn the strength of a group and how lucky we are to have the support from each other in moments like this, and we get our demeanor back up and we get back to it.”
Another thing Guilbeau pointed out that he liked about his team after the loss to Wake Forest was their attitude. He talked about how the team had a great conversation after the match and was very open-minded and receptive to all of the thoughts shared.
“You know the singles wasn’t our best today, but what I do see is … If anything, we actually opened up and shared some thoughts,” Guilbeau said. “That just shows me that, you know, look, it’s about more than just the tennis and hitting the ball, and I’m not going to pretend that that’s going to give us a win, but it makes the process much more likely, and much more fulfilling.”
Despite a tough weekend, Kelley talked about how despite the team being very young, they are eager to continue improving and gaining more and more experience each passing week.
“It’s still really early,” Kelley said. “I mean there’s four out of the six people out there, this was their third college match ever, and we lost to Wake Forest 4-3 last year so we knew they were going to be tough again, but … I think we’re all willing to work really hard and it’s even more empowering to get back out there.”
In Sunday’s second match, Ole Miss took down the Tigers (3-1, 0-0 SEC) 4-2 to clinch a spot
in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Virginia will continue its homestand next weekend as they prepare to face Syracuse Saturday and No. 16 South Carolina Sunday.
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