The No. 2 Virginia women’s tennis team suffered its first loss in ACC play this season, falling 4-2 to No. 12 NC State on the road Sunday in Raleigh, N.C. The Cavaliers (12-3, 4-1 ACC) secured the doubles point but were unable to hold off the Wolfpack (9-3, 4-0 ACC) in singles, breaking a seven-match ACC regular-season win streak dating back to last season.
Virginia started the match strong in doubles, with junior Annabelle Xu and freshman Martina Genis Salas delivering a commanding 6-2 victory on Court 2 after NC State took a 6-1 win on the top court.
Graduate student Sara Ziodato and freshman Isabelle Lacy, playing together for the first time, clinched the doubles point for the Cavaliers with a 6-4 win on Court 3, giving Virginia the early 1-0 lead. Despite missing senior Melodie Collard, the Cavaliers played strong doubles.
However, NC State quickly responded in singles. The Wolfpack tied the match with a dominant straight-set win on Court 5 before adding victories on Courts 1 and 4 to take a 3-1 advantage.
Xu kept the Cavaliers in the fight, bouncing back from a second-set loss to defeat No. 106 Maddy Zampardo 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Court 3. She regained her footing in the second set with deeper balls and more aggression.
Virginia had chances to force a decisive final match. Chervinsky was locked in a tight third-set tiebreak on Court 2, but NC State ultimately clinched the win on Court 6 with a hard-fought 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
The Cavaliers were without Collard, likely due to injury. This key absence high in the lineup certainly impacted the team’s depth in singles play, as well as its doubles combinations. Despite the loss, Virginia remains in a strong position in the ACC and will have time to regroup. The Cavaliers are off next week before returning home to host California March 21 and Stanford March 23.
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