No. 2 Virginia women’s tennis came out strong Friday in its ACC opener, securing a dominant 4-0 win over No. 19 Clemson at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville. Junior Annabelle Xu and freshman Martina Genis Salas clinched the doubles point in a close set, and before the Tigers (9-2, 0-1 ACC) could try and make a comeback, the Cavaliers (9-2, 1-0 ACC) finished the match with several decisive singles victories.
Virginia had a bit of a rocky start in doubles, with senior Melodie Collard and freshman Isabelle Lacy losing their match 6-1 against freshmen Gaia Parravicini and Amelie Smejkalova. Senior Elaine Chervinsky, a doubles champion in the fall alongside Collard, has been out since the ITA Indoors with an injury, making Lacy and Collard a relatively new pair.
The duo fought hard but could not secure the win in just one set. The Tigers were overpowering at the net and slightly more consistent at the baseline.
Virginia secured a key win on Court 3, however, with graduate student Sara Ziodato and junior Meggie Navarro winning 6-2 against graduate students Sophie Hatton and Annabelle Davis. They were continuously on offense at the net, putting the ball away whenever they got the chance.
The Cavaliers clinched the victory on Court 2, where Genis Salas and Xu took down Clemson freshman Candela Yecora and junior Romana Cisovska, 6-4.
Genis Salas used an underarm serve the entire time — most likely due to injury — and made it extremely effective with backspin and the deep groundstrokes that followed. Xu remained consistent and aggressive, both at the net and from the baseline, the entire match.
The Cavaliers carried that momentum into singles, where they dominated across multiple courts. On Court 1, Ziodato delivered an incredible performance with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. The graduate student has been playing fantastically recently, the reigning ACC Player of the Week.
Collard fought hard on Court 4, ultimately defeating Davis 7-5, 6-3. She was consistent and played smart, frequently mixing in her slice backhand.
Genis Salas also delivered another standout performance. After helping take the doubles point, she clinched the entire match with her singles victory against freshman Artemis Aslanisvili.
Once again, Genis Salas employed an underarm serve but was still able to vary its speed, depth and spin while seizing important points with powerful baseline play. She fought through a close first set before closing out a 6-4, 7-5 win.
The three other singles matches were left unfinished, with each either beginning or leading into a third set. The Cavaliers wasted no time in singles, with those wins on Courts 1, 4 and 5, displaying both their depth and resilience.
With the victory, Virginia continued to solidify its position as a top contender in the ACC,
showing its strength even with Chervinsky sidelined. The Cavaliers’ growing dominance also comes through in the rankings, with Virginia becoming the No. 2 ranked team nationally in just the last few days. The Cavaliers will look to build on this momentum Sunday, when they host Georgia Tech.