No. 2 Virginia women’s tennis continued its strong start to ACC play Sunday, securing a 4-2 victory over Georgia Tech at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers (10-2, 2-0 ACC) claimed the doubles point and three singles matches to notch their sixth consecutive win against the Yellow Jackets (6-5, 1-1 ACC).
Virginia opened the match by taking the doubles point in a competitive battle. It started off rocky, with Georgia Tech senior Kate Sharabura and freshman Taly Licht grabbing a quick 6-1 win on Court 3 against graduate student Sara Ziodato and junior Meggie Navarro.
However, the Cavaliers responded with victories on the remaining courts. The freshman-junior pairing of Martina Genis Salas and Annabelle Xu broke serve at 4-4 and fought on to win on Court 2.
Notably, senior Elaine Chervinsky returned to the doubles lineup Sunday, reuniting with her doubles partner and co-champion, senior Melodie Collard. With the doubles point on the line, Chervinsky and Collard delivered in a tightly contested match to win 7-5, prevailing to give Virginia the early lead.
The Yellow Jackets responded with tough singles play, earning straight-set wins on Courts 4 and 5 to take a 2-1 lead. Collard lost to sophomore Given Roach, unable to match her power and aggression. Genis Salas also fell to her opponent, 6-2, 6-3.
But Virginia’s depth proved to be too much for their opponents, as the Cavaliers bounced back with three consecutive victories to secure the match.
Graduate student Sara Ziodato continued her dominant form on Court 1, defeating sophomore Scarlett Nicholson in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to level the score.
Sophomore Blanca Pico Navarro followed with a win on Court 6, putting Virginia back in front. Pico Navarro was commanding on the baseline, keeping the ball deep and running her opponent back and forth.
Moments later, Xu clinched the victory for the Cavaliers, closing out a straight-set triumph over Alejandra Cruz on Court 2, 6-4, 6-2. Her power and aggression proved to be too much for her Georgia Tech opponent.
Sunday’s match had a number of highlights for the Cavaliers. Ziodato remained undefeated in dual matches this season, improving to 9-0. The duo of Chervinsky and Collard also maintained their flawless doubles record in dual play, moving to 7-0 while boasting an impressive 24-1 mark overall this year.
Up next, Virginia hits the road for another ACC matchup, Friday at 2 p.m. against SMU.
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