The No. 33-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team took a resounding 4-0 sweep last weekend against Louisville. The win improved its record to 14-3 and 4-2 in ACC play. This weekend, the Irish will make a trip to Virginia for a pair of ACC clashes with No. 57 Virginia Tech on Friday in Blacksburg and No. 5 Virginia on Sunday in Charlottesville.
Virginia Tech
Head coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Holdren’s squad posted a 9-13 record in 2024, going 3-10 in ACC play. The Hokies overcame Louisville 4-2 in round one before ending their season with a loss to Miami in the ACC Tournament second round.
After advancing to the Round of 16 at last season’s NCAA Singles Championship and becoming the program’s first-ever All-American, junior Özlem Uslu leads the Hokies on the No. 1 singles court. With a 7-5 record on the top court in 2025, Uslu ranks 30th in the nation in singles and also partners with Charlotte Cartledge to form the No. 83 doubles pairing. The duo has gone 8-4 at the No. 1 spot. Virginia Tech has mixed up its No. 3 pairing, but Arina Gamretkaia and Tara Gorinsek have cemented themselves on court two for the Hokies, going 6-1 on the season. Gorinsek also slots into the No. 2 court for singles competitions, where she holds a 5-5 record. Semra Aksu started the year in that spot, but has recently bumped down to court three where she has posted a 5-7 mark. Gamretkaia, Laima Frosch and Mila Mulready round out the bottom half of the singles lineup, contributing to 7-7, 10-6 and 10-5 records at courts four, five and six, respectively.
The Hokies enter the weekend coming off a pair of home losses against ACC foes No. 28 Stanford and No. 17 California last time out. They fell 5-2 to the Irish in South Bend last season.
Virginia
Head coach Sara O’Leary’s No. 5-ranked Cavaliers ended 2024 with a 25-5 record, finishing as ACC regular season co-champions and reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals. They returned several key contributors from last year’s squad including senior Elaine Chervinsky, who at No. 18 in the nation is the highest-ranked singles player on the team. She boasts a 23-7 overall record and a 7-1 mark in dual matches. She has shared the top-three singles courts with two more important returners, Sara Ziodato and Annabelle Xu. The No. 24-ranked Ziodato paces the team with a 10-3 record in dual matches while Xu is second on the team in overall wins with her 20-9 overall mark, earning her a No. 28 ranking in the nation. Freshman Isabelle Lacy rounds out the ranked singles players in the Cavalier lineup, coming in at No. 114 behind a 4-3 record.
In addition to her stellar singles play, Chervinsky has joined Melódie Collard to form the best doubles team in the nation. They boast a 25-2 overall record, going 8-1 in dual matches and 7-1 against nationally ranked opponents. Another freshman addition Martina Genis Salas has partnered with Xu at No. 2 doubles, posting a 10-4 record in dual matches, including a 5-1 mark in ACC play. Their performance has earned them the No. 28 ranking in the country. Ziodato and junior Meggie Navarro round out an elite doubles lineup for Virginia, the pairing coming in at No. 40 and recording a 5-3 record in dual matches.
The Cavaliers split a pair of matches at home last weekend, losing 4-1 to No. 17 California before bouncing back with a 4-0 sweep of No. 28 Stanford. They will host Louisville on Friday before seeing the Irish on Sunday.
Notre Dame faces Virginia Tech on Friday at 3 p.m. and Virginia on Sunday at noon as it look to improve on its 4-2 conference record.
