Virginia women's tennis competes in the ITA All-American Championships – The Cavalier Daily

The Virginia women's tennis traveled to Cary, NC this past weekend to compete in the weeklong ITA All-American Championships, which concluded Sunday and marked the team's second tournament of the season and was a major precursor to the NCAA Individual Championship in November. Six Cavaliers traveled south to compete, and while many made the cut, few could make a dent in the main event against such stiff competition.

Senior Melodie Collard, the No. 91 seed, had an impressive run in the singles qualifying draw, including plenty of upsets. She started Monday by handily defeating Clemson sophomore Ria Bhakta in straight sets, then earned a tougher win in a three-set match against Wichita State sophomore Xin Tong Wang later Tuesday.

The main draw opener on Wednesday gave Collard more trouble, as she was defeated by No. 36 seed Grace Piper, a senior from USC, in straight sets in the round of 64. That sent Collard to the consolation bracket, where she would play in a impressive total of four rounds.

Collard upset Oklahoma State junior and No. 9 seed Anastasiya Komar in straight sets on Thursday and then picked up three-set victories over Duke junior Katie Codd, the No. 49 seed, and Pennsylvania senior Sabine Rutlauka, the No. 70 seed. Unfortunately, Collard bowed out in the consolation round of 16 on Saturday after dropping a set to senior Kailey Evans of San Diego.

Junior Annabelle Xu also competed in the singles competition as a No. 21 seed, and she came back in three sets in her tournament opener on Wednesday after dropping the first set to NC State freshman Gabia Paskauskas. Xu lost her next match Thursday in the round of 32 to No. 5 seed Ange Oby Kajuru, a senior from Oklahoma State, in three sets.

Xu fell into the consolation bracket after the defeat with Collard, but she was not as successful as her teammate. She fell in three sets Friday to sophomore Sophia Biolay of UCF, the No. 35 seed, and was eliminated from the competition.

Senior Elaine Chervinsky, freshman Martina Genis Salas and sophomore Blanca Pico Navarro each had shorter heats in the singles draw. Chervinsky recorded a narrow victory in the first qualifying round on Monday and fell to San Diego's Evans in two close sets in the second round on Tuesday. Genis Salas also had two close sets in the first qualifying round, but was unable to convert them into a three-set victory. Navarro also lost in straight sets in the first qualifying round.

The doubles draw brought additional difficulties for the Cavaliers. Although veteran seniors Collard and Chervinsky were in strong contention for this tournament as the No. 3 seed, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 on Thursday by an unranked duo. Junior Meggie Navarro and graduate student Sara Ziodato, the No. 13 seed team, had similar problems. They lost their opening match Wednesday to No. 29 and were narrowly defeated in the first round of the consolation bracket.

The ITA All-American is the first opportunity for players to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships, but no Cavaliers performed well enough in the tournament to do so. Nevertheless, Collard and Chervinsky should continue to deliver solid performances in their upcoming doubles matches given their experience and performance in the individual season opener.

Notably, the All-American was an incredibly competitive tournament held so early in the season. Competition will be much more regionally focused in coming tournaments, and there will be many more opportunities to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships.

The Wahoowa Invitational is next for women's tennis, which will take the court Friday through Sunday at the Boar's Head Resort in Charlottesville.