SEATTLE – The No. 11 Virginia women’s tennis team (7-1) picked up a 5-2 victory against No. 6 Pepperdine (2-2) on Friday (Feb. 9) in the opening round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash.
With the victory, the Cavaliers advance to face 4-seed Michigan (6-1) on Saturday at 12 p.m. E.T. in the quarterfinals.
Virginia and Pepperdine split decisions on the top two doubles courts, leaving the point to be decided on court three. Sophomore Annabelle Xu and senior Sara Ziodato won 7-5 on court three to clinch the point.
Sophomore Mélodie Collard gave UVA a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win on singles court six. The Waves won in straight sets on courts one and three to tie the match 2-2.
Ziodato and junior Elaine Chervinsky both started tiebreakers to decide their second sets at the same time. Chervinsky won hers 7-3 followed right after by Ziodato with a 7-5 win. Senior Hibah Shaikh finished her third set on court two moments later to give UVA its fifth point.
Shaikh’s victory against No. 6 Savannah Broadus was the highest-ranked player she has defeated in her collegiate career.
Pepperdine was the No. 5 seed in the tournament, but is ranked No. 6 in the ITA team rankings. Only the top eight teams in the field…
