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NEW ORLEANS, La. – Virginia Tech continued to demonstrate its continued improvement with an impressive 6-1 win at Tulane Thursday evening at the Goldring Tennis Center on the Tulane University campus. The Hokies improved to 9-3 on the year with a third consecutive victory, while the Green Wave fell to 8-9.

Tech, ranked No. 45 in this week’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, took two of the three doubles matches to claim the first point, then dominated the singles with five victories in the six contests for the win.

Inga Beermann (Sr., Bad Salzuflen, Germany) won the match of day at No. 1 with a tough, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (2), victory over Anna Bartenstein. Tech’s other four victories came from three freshmen and a sophomore. Martha Blakely (Fr., Reading, Pa.) took care of Lindsay Dvorak, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 3, while Holly Johnson (So., Tallahassee, Fla.) cruised past Elizabeth Hamlin in her No. 4 match, 6-3, 6-1.

Elsewhere, Courtney Rauscher (Fr., Evans, Ga.) toughed out a tight, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, win at No. 5 versus Caroline Gerber and Shannon Betts (Fr., Newnan, Ga.) pulled out a come-from-behind, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4, victory against Marcela Fonseca. Tech’s only singles loss occurred at No. 2 where Jessica Brouwer (Sr., Maarssen, The Netherlands) lost her No. 2 contest, 6-4, 6-1, to Mariam Kurdadze.

In doubles, Brouwer/Johnson, ranked 63^rd nationally, defeated Bartenstein/Hamlin, 8-2, at No. 1 and the Hokies clinched the doubles point as Yasmin Hamza (So., Cairo, Egypt/Abbey Walker (Sr., Lancaster, S.C.) defeated Fonseca/Jessica Lange, 8-2, in the No. 2 contest.. Tulane won a close match at No. 2 as Beermann/Blakely lost, 8-7 (5), to Dvorak/Kurdadze.

"I think they just came out and played with a lot of heart," said Tech head coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. "We've been practicing a lot, getting outdoors again and playing consistent out here and understanding how to play with the wind blowing. It was a case of us really battling it out to the end and I thought we did a good job of closing out these third sets and showing up today."

Tech returns to action on Sunday, March 15, at 9:30 am. in a key ACC match at No. 18 Virginia.

#45 Virginia Tech 6, Tulane 1

Singles

No. 1 Inga Beermann (VT) def. Anna Bartenstein (TU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (2)

No. 2 Mariam Kurdadze (TU) def. Jessica Brouwer (VT) 6-4, 6-1

No. 3 Martha Blakely (VT) def. Lindsay Dvorak (TU) 6-3, 6-3

No. 4 Holly Johnson (VT) def. Elizabeth Hamlin (TU) 6-3, 6-1

No. 5 Courtney Rauscher (VT) def. Caroline Gerber (TU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2

No. 6 Shannon Betts (VT) def. Marcela Fonseca (TU) 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1 #63 Brouwer/Johnson (VT) def. Bartenstein/Hamlin (TU) 8-2

No. 2 Dvorak/Kurdadze (TU) def. Beermann/Blakely (VT) 8-7 (5)

No. 3 Yasmin Hamza/Abbey Walker (VT) def. Fonseca/Jessica Lange 8-2

For updates on Virginia Tech women's tennis, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_WTennis).