CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 8 Virginia women’s tennis team (3-0) picked up a 4-1 victory against Washington State (2-1) on Friday (Jan. 27) in the opening round of ITA Kickoff Weekend matches.
Virginia advances to take on either South Carolina or Northwestern on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m. in the championship match. The winner of that contest will earn an invitation to the 2023 ITA National Indoor Team Championships, being held Feb. 10-13 in Seattle, Wash.
The Cavaliers won on all three doubles courts. Natasha Subhash and Melodie Collard followed with dominant wins on courts two and six to give UVA a 3-0 lead.
Sara Ziodato and Annabelle Xu rebounded after dropping their first sets to win their seconds to force third sets.
The Cougar’s Maxine Murphy picked up a point for her team by winning a three-setter on the top court to make it 3-1.
Hibah Shaikh clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Fifa Kumhom on court five to send her team to the final.
RESULTS
#8 Virginia 4, Washington State 1
Singles competition
- Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. #34 Julia Adams (VA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
- #90 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-0, 6-2
- Sara Ziodato (VA) vs. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 4-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
- #62 Annabelle Xu (VA) vs. Elyse Tse (WSU) 3-6, 6-3, 2-2, unfinished
- #77 Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
- #98 Melodie Collard (VA) def. Stefaniia Mikhailova (WSU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
- Julia Adams/Melodie Collard (VA) def. Maxine Murphy/Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-4
- Natasha Subhash/Annabelle Xu (VA) def. Fifa Kumhom/Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 6-3
- Elaine Chervinsky/Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Elyse Tse/Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,2,1,5)
T-2:20 A-82
ABOUT ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
- The ITA Kickoff Weekend is one of the marquee events of the spring season bringing together the top 60 men’s and women’s college tennis teams for a weekend of intense competition. Hosted by 15 men’s and women’s programs from across the country, the ITA Kickoff Weekend is an early-season test for teams against programs they might not typically face.
- Each season, the ITA Kickoff Weekend field is determined by the ITA Kickoff Weekend Draft which is held in the summer months after the dual-match season. The Top 15 ranked teams in the final ITA Rankings of the season will automatically serve as hosts for both men’s and women’s teams
- In the draft, teams and coaches have the opportunity to choose…