Highlight Hoos 2021-2022: Emma Navarro | UVA Women's Tennis

Recapping Emma Navarro's second and final season of collegiate tennis

The 2022-2023 Virginia athletics season is right around the corner. But first, let's put the finishing touches on our Highlight Hoos series, recapping the some of the incredible athletic accomplishments achieved by UVA student athletes during the 2021-2022 sports year. 

So far, we've covered Diana Ordóñez (Virginia women's soccer), Mia Barnett (Virginia cross country and track & field), Leo Afonso (Virginia men's soccer), Brooklyn Borum (Virginia volleyball), Amber Ezechiels (Virginia field hockey), Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass (Virginia swimming), Dontayvion Wicks (Virginia football), Jay Aiello (Virginia wrestling), Jayden Gardner (Virginia men's basketball), Rachel Clark (Virginia women's lacrosse), Matt Moore (Virginia men's lacrosse), Leah Boggs (Virginia softball), Jake Gelof (Virginia baseball), and Owayne Owens (Virginia track & field). 

Today, we recap the second and final collegiate season of Emma Navarro, who cemented herself as a rising star in the tennis world before officially beginning her professional career. 

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

After earning the title of the 2021 NCAA National Singles Champion as a freshman, Emma Navarro came into her sophomore season with high expectations. Despite the added pressure, she was able to put together a very impressive season to lead her team, and ultimately kickstart her professional career after two years of college tennis.

In the 2021-2022 season, Emma Navarro finished with a 26-2 singles record and an overall 20-7 doubles record. She was the preseason No. 1 overall singles player, and held that position for four straight weeks during the season until eventually ending as the No. 2 singles player in the country based on the ITA rankings.

Navarro paired up with teammate Hibah Shaikh to be ranked as high as No. 3 in the ITA doubles rankings, and the duo ended the season with the No. 4 ranking in the country after finishing with a record of 13-6.

In the ACC, Navarro was 12-1 in singles matches and became the first UVA player to be named ACC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year. Navarro and Shaikh beat the No. 1 overall doubles team to help the Cavaliers upset UNC in the ACC Semifinals and advance to the ACC Championship, where they ultimately fell to Duke.

In the NCAA team tournament, Navarro helped Virginia advance to the quarterfinals, where the Cavaliers were defeated by the eventual national champions Texas Longhorns. In this match, Navarro beat Peyton Stearns, who ended up becoming the 2022 NCAA Singles Champion.

Unfortunately, Navarro was upset in the Round of 16 in the singles tournament after earning the No. 1 overall seed, so Stearns took Navarro’s title. Navarro and Shaikh also fell in the Round of 16 as the No. 3 seed in the doubles competition. The two Round of 16 finishes guaranteed that Emma Navarro would be an All-American for both singles and doubles, an impressive feat.

After the season concluded, Emma was named the 2022 VaSID All-State Player of the Year, which is the second year in a row she has earned this honor. She also was one of the four finalists for the Honda Award, given to the best women’s tennis player, for the second straight year.

Emma Navarro will be leaving Virginia and taking her talents to the professional level after being one of the best collegiate players in the country for the past two years. Her time as a Cavalier was filled with success and Navarro left a lasting mark on the Virginia tennis program, which will certainly miss her firepower next spring.

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