Last spring, Virginia women’s tennis achieved its second regular-season conference title ever, posting an overall record of 25-5, the program’s first season ever with 25 wins. With last spring’s successes as well as the program’s first ever NCAA doubles championship under their belts, the No. 9 Cavaliers embarked Wednesday on their 2025 spring season.
Their performance certainly met the high preseason expectations — the Cavaliers claimed both matches of a doubleheader against Duquesne at the Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville.
“I think we've put a lot of work into this preseason, and hopefully we've set a good foundation for us to continue with the rest of the season,” senior Elaine Chervinsky said after the match. “And right now, it's just about trusting in the work and having a good time with each other.”
In the first match, at 10 a.m., the Cavaliers secured a 7-0 victory, demonstrating their depth and skill across both singles and doubles. Chervinsky and senior Melodie Collard, the national-title winning pair, as well as junior Annabelle Xu and freshman Martina Genis Salas swept their doubles matches. Graduate student Sara Ziodato and junior Meggie Navarro defeated their Duquesne opponents 6-3.
In singles, every Virginia player won in straight sets, except for Ziodato who took control in the second set and fought through a third set tiebreaker to emerge victorious. Sophomore Bianca Pico Navarro was especially dominant on the singles court, winning 6-0, 6-0.
“What I thought we did a good job of, especially in the second match, was — if we were playing well and kind of winning easily — we stayed on them,” Coach Sara O’Leary said. “We didn't take our foot off the gas. And then I think for the players that maybe were having a little more trouble today, I thought that they problem-solved really well.”
The 2 p.m. match mirrored the morning in its success, with Virginia again defeating Duquesne 7-0 and the same players coming out with a win.
The afternoon match also provided an opportunity for O’Leary to put freshmen Karolina Kozakova, a mid-year recruit, out on the court. Kozakova impressed with wins in both singles and doubles. In singles, she fought through a close first set tiebreak and closed out the second set strong. In doubles, Kozakova paired well with Ziodato, taking a decisive victory against the Duquesne pair, 6-1.
“It's not easy for first years to come in mid-year, but I think with the culture that we have in place, the rest of the team is going to help them manage school and tennis and jump right into season,” O’Leary said. “So I think if there was a year we could do it, it's definitely this year with this team.”
This spring’s regular season consists of 16 dual matches, not including ITA Kickoff Weekend and ITA Indoors. Eleven of those are in Charlottesville, and five are away. Virginia will look to build on the momentum of last season's co-championship title with North Carolina as it aims for its first outright ACC title in program history.
After finishing the first match against Duquesne, the difficulty will increase later this week against James Madison.
After that match, North Carolina, one of Virginia’s main rivals, comes to town Monday. This match should be one of the closest of the season — Virginia has lost three out of its last four matchups against the Tar Heels, with their only win from last spring. This faceoff will also play a role in determining who is conference champion, as the Cavaliers tied with North Carolina for the title last year at 12-1 in the conference.
No. 8 Michigan will prove to be another nail-biter Feb. 1. Virginia has fallen to the Wolverines in each of the last two years, so this match against a similarly ranked team outside of the ACC will reveal how the Cavaliers can perform on the national stage.
“These first few matches are just really, really important for us to compete and feel what it's like being out there to prepare us for some of those rival matches,” O’Leary said. “We know those teams so well, and we're going to have to be ready from the first ball struck.”
Virginia is set to host the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Boar's Head Resort Jan. 24 and 25. The Cavaliers will compete against a field of talented teams for a chance to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Feb. 7-10. With its strong roster and home-court advantage, Virginia aims to secure a spot in the national tournament, an opportunity to compete in one of the most competitive events outside of NCAAs.
Virginia has the potential to play No. 11 Duke, another ACC rival, in the second round of the ITA Kickoff. The Cavaliers have emerged victorious two out of the last three years against the Blue Devils in regular-season matches, but not without it coming down to a single point.
The ACCs new additions — Southern Methodist, Stanford and California — will also provide interesting matchups, as Virginia has not faced many of these teams in years. The most recent match against any of the three was the 2022 ITF Kickoff final against No. 3 Stanford, in which Virginia won 4-3.
The ACC Tournament, one of the most competitive conference tournaments in college tennis, will take place in late April. It could be a pivotal moment for Virginia to solidify its place among the conference elite and secure a high seed heading into the NCAA Championships.
Following their historic success last spring, the Cavaliers have their sights set on making an even deeper run in the NCAA Championships in early May. Virginia will aim to surpass its quarterfinal exit from last year and contend for the program’s first-ever national title.
With a blend of experienced players like Chervinsky and Ziodato and impactful newcomers such as Genis Salas and Kozakova, the team has the depth and talent needed to compete with the best in the nation. O’Leary’s emphasis on preparation and adaptability will be critical as the Cavaliers aim to surpass last year’s successes.
“We played a lot of matches in the fall and just tried to work on a couple things,” Xu said after Wednesday’s match. “And now in the spring, it's just about seeing how far we can really take this program.”
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