Cavalier Corner

Summer 2024

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SUMMER 2024 27 TENNIS Team USA has five women on its tennis roster for Paris, two of whom are Cavaliers. In selections based entirely on world ranking, two Hoos made the cut, giving the UVA wom- en's tennis program its first-ever Olympians. Danielle Collins ('16) played three seasons at Virginia, winning the NCAA singles titles in 2014 and 2016. She has won four WTA sin- gles titles, including back-to-back victories in Miami and Charleston this year. She debuted in the top 10 of the world rankings in Janu- ary 2022 following her Australian Open finals run, ranking as high as No. 7 in July of that year. She returned to a top-10 ranking in May this year and is currently ranked No. 11. She will be playing both doubles and singles. Emma Navarro ('22) played two seasons at Virginia, winning the NCAA singles title as a freshman in 2021. She has had a meteoric rise through the world rankings, cracking the top 200 in March 2022 and making the top 100 in May 2023 before reaching a No. 32 ranking before the end of last year. She has moved up to a No. 17 world ranking after advancing to the round of 16 at this year's French Open. She will be competing in the singles draw. The tennis events will be played on the clay courts of Roland Garros, the site of the French Open. There will be a 64-player singles draw, a 32-team doubles draw and a 16-team mixed doubles draw. The tennis events will take place July 27-Aug. 4. ROWING The Cavaliers will have an Olympian and a Paralympian competing in Paris at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. Sky Dahl, a rising fourth-year, is UVA's Paralympian. She rowed on UVA's Second Varsity Eight as a second-year, including during the boat's championship race at the ACC Championship. She was part of the PR3 Mixed Four that won silver at the 2023 World Rowing Championships. Dahl will compete in the PR3 Mixed Four in Paris. Her event will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 1. Heidi Long ('19), a first-time Olympian, will compete for Great Britain. The native of Buckinghamshire, England, was a member of UVA's ACC champion Varsity Eight team for four years. She was the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2016, earning All-ACC honors three times and twice being named an All-American. After competing at junior levels, she joined the senior team in 2021, winning the 2022 Euro- pean and World Championships in the Coxed Four. She was a member of the Coxed Eight that won silver at this year's World Rowing Cup. She will row in the Women's Eight, which will take place from July 29-Aug. 3. SOCCER Emily Sonnett ('15) will be suiting up in the Olympics for the second time. She was an al- ternate in 2016 before making the 2020 team and helping earn a bronze medal. The defender has 91 appearances with the USWNT with 2 goals and 7 assists. Sonnett was the 2015 ESPNW National Player of the Year, a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and a Honda Award nominee final season with the Cavaliers. Joe Bell ('19) is expected to make his sec- ond Olympic appearance as a member of the New Zealand All-Whites. Bell played on the squad that finished sixth in Tokyo. New Zealand will be competing in Group A in Paris along with France, Guinea and the United States. The soccer tournaments will be held from July 24-Aug. 10 in various venues in France. FIELD HOCKEY Pien Dicke ('17) has been named an alter- nate for the Netherlands field hockey team, which is a heavy favorite to medal in Paris. Dicke played one season at UVA, where she was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and earned first-team All-America honors. She then returned to her home country to begin competing for her national teams. She is one of two alternates for the Dutch team and has the potential to be named to the active squad ahead of the start of the competition. Note: The years listed for each athlete are their last seasons of competition at UVA. Not all have graduated from UVA. FIELD HOCKEY Pien Dicke, Netherlands (alternate) ROWING Sky Dahl, United States — PR3 Mixed Four Heidi Long, Great Britain — Women's Eight SOCCER Joe Bell, New Zealand* Emily Sonnett, United States SWIMMING Aimee Canny, South Africa — 200 free Kate Douglass, United States — 100 free, 200 IM, 200 breast Paige Madden, United States — 400, free 800 free, 4x200 free relay Alex Walsh, United States — 200 IM Gretchen Walsh, United States — 100 fly, 50 free and 4x100 free relay Emma Weber, United States — 100 breast Todd DeSorbo, United States — women's head coach TENNIS Danielle Collins, United States — doubles and singles Emma Navarro, United States — singles * Not official; New Zealand's roster had not been announced as of June 27, but he was expected to make the team Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro are the first players in Virginia women's tennis history to be named to an Olympic team. (Photos courtesy UVA) UVA'S 2024 OLYMPIANS Virginia may still have other international athletes who qualify in sports that have not finalized their rosters. Log on to VirginiaSports.com for up-to-date Olympic coverage. How to Watch: NBC will broadcast many of the competitions on its family of networks (including E! and USA) and stream every event live on its Peacock platform.

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