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DECEMBER 2023 29 titles at ITF World Tennis Tour 25K in Orlando, Fla., advanced to semifinals of the Rome Ten- nis Open, an ITF World Tennis Tour 60K tourna- ment in Rome, Ga., played in main draw of the WTA 250 tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, the Abierto GNP Seguros and advanced to the second round of the LTP W100 (ITF World Ten- nis Tour 100K) tournament in Charleston, S.C. She stayed extremely busy pursuing her passion, developing her talents and having incredible experiences. By the end of her second year, Navarro knew she had to make what felt like a now- or-never type of decision: whether to go pro in what would be a valuable year of profes- sional tennis. If she stayed at school, she could potentially give up the opportunity to be a professional tennis player, whereas, leaving school felt risky since she knew she had found a home in Charlottesville that she cherished, and there was no guarantee of future success on the professional tour. The team wrapped up its season in Champaign, Ill., in 2022 in the NCAA Tour- nament. Having been named the No. 1 seed and expected to make a strong push in the tournament as she had done the previous year, Navarro struggled to find her form and lost in both singles and doubles earlier than expected. That evening she sat down with her coaches to let them know she would be leaving UVA to embark on her professional tennis journey. As bittersweet as it was to leave a team of coaches and women that she cared for so greatly, she knew it was time to move on and chase her dream of being a professional tennis player. During Navarro's second year, she had earned even more notable achievements in- cluding ITA Singles All-American, ITA Doubles All-American, finalist for the Honda Sport Award for Tennis, No. 1 seed in NCAA Singles Championship (first player in program his- tory to be the top seed), No. 3 seed in NCAA Doubles Championship with Hibah Shaikh (first doubles team in program history to be seeded), VaSID State Player of the Year, Team MVP (Coach's Award for Excellence), VaSID All-State First Team in singles and doubles, and several ACC Player of the Week titles. She finished the year ranked No. 4 in doubles. With a certain amount of trial and er- ror, Navarro has been able to find joy and fulfillment in the challenges of professional tennis. In 2023, she has traveled the globe, played in almost 90 matches and is cur- rently ranked No. 33. She is coached by Peter Ayers and has two more tournaments in South America to finish out this year. Her favorite highlights from traveling in- clude visiting quaint and pretty towns such as Saint-Malo, France, and meeting nice people. Those opportunities have allowed her to intimately experience various cul- tures in cities she might not have otherwise visited. She has also enjoyed visiting some larger cities such as Paris, London and New York, and has gotten to know them better. During her professional travels, Navarro still misses her UVA tennis family. She has maintained close friendships with her former teammates and visited Charlottesville this fall to spend time with them. She checks in on the coaches often, and they also reach out to wish her good luck and extend their con- gratulations as they follow her career. Navarro's younger sister Meggie is currently on the UVA women's tennis team, and Na- varro stays closely connected with her college tennis journey as well. When her professional career is over, Navarro hopes to complete her degree at UVA, the school that provided her with an incredible experience on her path to become a professional tennis player. — Jess Armistead After two successful seasons at UVA, Navarro decided to join the professional tour. (Photo courtesy UVA) With a gift of appreciated securities to the VAF, you can claim an income tax deduction for the full market value of the assets and avoid paying capital gains taxes on appreciation. Appreciated securities can be donated outright or used to establish a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust that pays you income for life first, then provides future support for student-athletes. Contact the Virginia Athletics Foundation to learn about the benefits of these gifts: Bequests and Beneficiary Designations | Life Income Gifts | Qualified Charitable Distributions | Gifts of Non-Cash Assets, including Stock and Real Estate PLANNED GIFTS COMBINE YOUR PHILANTHROPIC GOALS WITH SMART FINANCIAL STRATEGIES. virginiaathleticsfoundation.com | 434-982-5555 With a gift of appreciated securities to the VAF, you can claim an income tax deduction for the full market value of the assets and avoid paying capital gains taxes on appreciation. Appreciated securities can be donated outright or used to establish a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust that pays you income for life first, then provides future support for student-athletes. PUT STOCK IN the future of Virginia Athletics