Women's tennis edged by No. 1 Virginia, 4-3

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs come up short to No. 1 Virginia

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU women's tennis battled to the end but came up short to No. 1 Virginia to start the weekend, falling 4-3 to the Cavaliers at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex Friday afternoon.

"We gave ourselves a chance against the top team in the country," said head coach Jeff Nevolo. "Our doubles were high energy and aggressive, and Drew and Ari did a great job closing out their matches. It was a tough one, and we will reset and get ready for Virginia Tech."

SMU took the match's first point against the Cavaliers, taking the doubles point first with a win on court one by Sophie Llewellyn and Ellie Pittman, 6-1 over Isabelle Lacy/Elaine Chervinsky from Virginia. Arianna Stavropoulos and Kayla Schefke won their third straight doubles match and first, as a pairing over a ranked opponent as they took down No. 38 Sara Ziodato/Meggie Navarro 6-2 to secure the doubles point.

Virginia stormed back to start singles play, claiming three straight, including wins on courts two, one, and six, to reach within a point of the clinch. The Mustangs didn't go away quietly, battling to win the next two singles matches to even the score at 3-3. Arianna Stavropoulos took down No. 60 Isabelle Lacy 7-5, 6-1 on court four, and then Drew Morris came up big with a 6-2, 7-5 win over No. 24 Annabelle Xu, her fifth straight singles win.

However, Virginia's Blanca Pico Navarro got the best of Millie Skelton, winning 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to win the match for the Cavaliers.

NEXT UP:
SMU will be back in action Sunday, Mar. 2, at noon CT as they host No. 31 Virginia Tech.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Mustangs by following SMU Women's Tennis on X @SMUWTennis, on Instagram @smuwtennis, and on Facebook @SMUWomensTennis or check out information online at smumustangs.com.

Results
#61 SMU 3, #1 Virginia 4

Doubles
1. Sophie Llewellyn/Ellie Pittman (SMU) def. Isabelle Lacy/Elaine Chervinsky (UVA) 6-1
2. Caroline McGinley/Drew Morris (SMU) vs. #28 Annabelle Xu/Martina Genis Salas 3-5, uf
3. Kayla Schefke/Arianna Stavropoulos (SMU) def. #38 Sara Ziodato/Meggie Navarro (UVA) 6-2

Singles
1. #19 Sara Ziodato (UVA) def. Sophie Llewellyn (SMU) 6-0, 6-4
2. #18 Elaine Chervinsky (UVA) def, Ellie Pittman (SMU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Drew Morris (SMU) def. #24 Annabelle Xu (UVA) 6-2, 7-5
4. Arianna Stavropoulos (SMU) def. #60 Isabelle Lacy (UVA) 7-5, 6-1
5. Blanca Pico Navarro (UVA) def. Millie Skelton (SMU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
6. Martina Genis Salas (UVA) def. Kayla Schefke (SMU) 6-1, 6-2

(Order of finish: Doubles 1, 3 / Singles 2, 1, 6, 4, 3, 5)