Virginia Tech 6, Elon 1
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Elon University women’s tennis team dropped its season opener Saturday, Jan. 18, on the road against 54th-ranked Virginia Tech by a score of 6-1 at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
The 74th-ranked Phoenix dropped the doubles point and the first three singles matches to give the Hokies the victory before Barbora Lazarova earned Elon’s only point with a come-from-behind win against Raluca Mita on court No. 4.
“The team competed hard against a very good Virginia Tech team,” said Elon head coach Elizabeth Anderson. “I was very proud of Barbora and the positive determination she displayed to come back and win her match. We are looking forward to several good days of practice to get ready for our opportunities ahead.”
Virginia Tech stormed out to a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point with wins on courts No. 2 and 3. The pairing of Bryn Khoury and Viviana Stavreva kept the set close by battling Tea Ivanovic and Sansitha Nandakumar to a 3-all tie on court No. 3, but the Virginia Tech duo won the next three games to close the set.
Francesca Fusinato and Ilinca Stoica quickly followed Ivanovic and Nandakumar by topping Maria Camara Ruiz and Taylor Casey on court No. 3 to seal the point.
Khoury struggled to find her groove on singles court No. 3 against Kelly Williford, falling to the sophomore 6-2, 6-1. After taking the first set on court No. 5, Casey dropped the second set and ultimately lost the tiebreaker to Carol Kahoun to give the Hokies a 3-0 lead.
Nandakumar clinched the win for Virginia Tech on court No. 6 by topping Camara Ruiz 6-2, 6-3.
Finishing out the remaining matches, Jordan Johnston, the 69th-ranked player in the country, won her first set on court No. 1, but Stoica eased to a second-set win and emerged the winner by taking the tiebreaker 7-3 over Johnston.
Frida Jansaker struggled in her first set against Fusinato, the 82nd-ranked player in the nation, but battled the freshman to 5-all in the second set on court No. 2 before Fusinato broke Jansaker late to pick up her first collegiate victory.
Virginia Tech 6, Davidson 1
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Opening at Virginia Tech for the second straight year, Davidson fell in its Spring opener 6-1 Saturday evening at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in non-conference women’s tennis action.
The Wildcats’ lone win on the evening came at No. 2 singles by former Southern Conference All-Freshman Team member Elaina Cummer. The sophomore tallied a 6-3, 6-4 decision to start the new season.
Virginia Tech (2-0), which is ranked 54th to open the year in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) top-75 poll, earned the doubles point with 6-2 and 6-3 wins, respectively, at No. 1 and 3 positions. Freshman Jenna Brunner and senior Nisha Crouser were tied 5-5 in their doubles match at No. 2 when it was called after the doubles point was decided.
Brunner also saw action in her first collegiate singles match, pushing her set to a super tie-breaker at No. 5 vs. Sansitha Nandakumar. She took the first set, 6-2, but dropped a 6-3 decision in the next set, and then fell 10-6 in the tie-breaker.
Furman at UCF Invite
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Furman women’s tennis opened the 2014 spring season Saturday with six wins at the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla. The Paladins squared off against North Florida in singles and faced UCF in doubles at the tournament.
In singles play, Furman freshman Ansley Speaks defeated Marina Cunningham, 6-3, 6-2, and senior Katherine Oudin notched a 6-4, 7-5 singles victory versus Taylor Hollander. Rookie Blair Martin held on for a 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8) win against Michelle Valdez, and senior Amanda Murray topped Mariella Calderon, 6-3, 6-4.
The Paladins won two out of three doubles matches, as Martin and Speaks teamed up to beat Clare Mendell and Annika Hepp, 6-1, while senior Margaret Boyette and freshman Karlee Bryde claimed a 6-2 win versus Josephine Haraldson and Cassie Hochwalt.