By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In college tennis, a team’s whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. Consider the University of Virginia women’s squad. Head coach Sara O’Leary may not have a player as dominant as, say, a Danielle Collins or an Emma Navarro at the top of her singles lineup, but collectively the Cavaliers are putting together one of the best seasons in program history.
“We understand that at the end of the day, it’s a unit and we’re a team,” sophomore Annabelle Xu said after fifth-seeded UVA advanced to the NCAA tournament’s third round Sunday with a 4-0 victory over Princeton on the indoor courts at the Boar’s Head Resort.
“Our team is so deep,” Xu said. “I think that’s been one of our biggest strengths all season, knowing that every time we step on the court, every single person at every spot has a chance to win.”
In the NCAA tournament, as in the regular season, teams play dual matches in which seven points are at stake. The six singles matches are worth one point apiece, and the team that wins two of the three doubles matches earns another point.
“Every spot is worth the same,” O’Leary said. “We have confidence in everyone we put out there, and I think they all believe in themselves and they believe in each other. I also think Hibah [Shaikh] has done an amazing job going from playing four, five and six [earlier in her career] to stepping up and pretty much playing number one almost our entire season and being very successful at that position.”
In the Sweet Sixteen, Virginia (24-4) will host unseeded Vanderbilt (14-10) on Saturday at the Boar’s Head. Vandy advanced by upsetting No. 12 seed Ohio State 4-3 on Sunday.
Weather permitting, the third-round match will be played outdoors at the Virginia Tennis Facility.
“Hopefully it’s outside,” Xu said, “but I’m just really happy to be back home. It doesn’t really change anything for us whether we’re inside or outside. At home either way, it’s special.”
Mother Nature did not cooperate this weekend, and the Wahoos played indoors twice, beating LIU 4-0 on Saturday and then blanking Princeton on Sunday. The Tigers (16-9), coming off a first-round upset of Washington, battled gamely throughout, but Virginia matched their energy.
“One thing we’ve been talking about all season is that it doesn’t matter who’s across the net, we’ve got to take care of ourselves, and I…