Virginia women’s tennis put together an impressive showing at the ITA East Sectional in Chapel Hill, N.C., over the weekend. Six Cavaliers competed in the event, and three secured spots for the NCAA Individual Championships later this month.
Junior Annabelle Xu and senior Elaine Chervinsky both qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship. Xu, seeded third in the singles draw, advanced to the semifinals, where she ultimately withdrew after solidifying her qualification.
Chervinsky lost an incredibly close, three-set quarterfinal match to the top seed, North Carolina senior Carson Tanguilig. However, she came back and rallied in a three-set playoff match against Maryland senior Kallista Liu, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 and will join Xu at the NCAA Singles Championship.
Xu will be making her second appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship this year, after getting to the round of 16 last season. Chervinsky will also be making her second singles appearance, having previously qualified as a freshman three years ago.
In doubles, Xu teamed up with freshman Martina Genis Salas, and together they claimed a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championship. Despite a semifinal loss to a North Carolina duo, Xu and Genis Salas won their third-place playoff match against a team from Penn, 6-7(5), 6-3, 1-0(2) securing their spot in the tournament.
Throughout the tournament, Virginia’s depth shone. All four singles players — Chervinsky, senior Melodie Collard, Xu and Genis Salas — won their opening matches Thursday to reach the round of 16. Xu and Genis Salas advanced to the quarterfinals in doubles, and in consolation doubles, junior Meggie Navarro and graduate student Sara Ziodato triumphed. After losing in the round of 16, the pair went on to win three straight matches to claim the consolation title.
In addition to Xu and Chervinsky, graduate student Sara Ziodato, who qualified at the ITA Atlantic Regional in October, will compete in the singles championship. In doubles, Xu and Genis Salas will join Chervinsky and Collard, who qualified by winning the ITA Atlantic Regional doubles title.
Two men’s tennis players also competed in Chapel Hill. Junior Mans Dahlberg won his first singles match but lost in the second round to the top seed in the tournament, therefore he was unable to qualify for the NCAA Championship. In doubles, Dahlberg and sophomore Dylan Dietrich fell in the quarterfinals to a Duke pair.
The Cavaliers now look ahead to the NCAA Individual Championships, which will take place Nov. 19-24 in Waco, Tex. This year marks the first time the championships will take place in the fall, ahead of the spring team competition. Chervinsky, Ziodato, Genis Salas and Collard from the women’s team, along with Dietrich from the men’s team, will be representing Virginia among the best of college tennis.
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