An outstanding summer for the University of Virginia women’s tennis program carried over into the fall Sunday when Cavalier seniors Elaine Chervinsky and Melodie Collard won the NCAA doubles championship at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas.
Their title, clinched with a three-set win over a duo from UCLA, is UVA’s first NCAA doubles championship. It capped a banner four-month stretch for Wahoo women’s tennis, which included alumni Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins – both former NCAA singles champions – making deep runs at Wimbledon and competing in the Paris Olympics.
In the first year the NCAA singles and doubles championships have been contested in the fall instead of after the team championship in the spring, Chervinsky and Collard won all five of their matches in the tournament in third-set, 10-point super tiebreakers.
Chervinsky and Collard began the season ranked third nationally among doubles teams, but were not seeded for the tournament.
𝒢𝒶𝓂𝑒, 𝒮𝑒𝓉, 𝑀𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽!!
NCAA Doubles Champions 🏆🏆 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/ZYMYnVFsGn— Virginia Women's Tennis (@UVAWomensTennis) November 24, 2024
[Sound of tennis racket meeting ball]
On-court announcer:
Game, set, match, Virginia.
Fan in stands:
Let’s goooo!
Stadium announcer:
An NCAA championship for the University of Virginia.
[Applause]
“I am at a loss for words because we worked so hard for this and we’ve had such an amazing week and such a fun week that I think I need some to time to soak it in,” Chervinsky said. “But the fact that we’ve earned this as a team just makes it so much better, so much sweeter. It’s a full-team effort; it wasn’t just us on the court.”
Chervinsky went on to praise the Cavalier coaching stuff, including head coach Sara O’Leary, plus her teammates and her father for their support in Waco.
Chervinsky and Collard join Collins (singles titles in 2014 and 2016) and Navarro (2021 singles title) as UVA’s all-time individual women’s NCAA champions.
Sunday’s win is the 88th individual NCAA title for UVA across all sports.
