March 29, 2013
Tech heads to North Carolina to face a pair of top-10 opponents
The Hokies take on No. 1 UNC and No. 7 Duke
F
Hurricane Invitational
Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The No. 60 Virginia Tech women’s tennis team will continue with conference play this week as is travels to North Carolina to take on a pair of top-10 opponents. Tech will open the weekend on Friday, March 29 at top-ranked North Carolina and continues play the following day, Saturday, March 30, at No. 7 Duke.

Tech sits at 13-3 on the year and will look to rebound this weekend after falling 6-1 at No. 32 Virginia last weekend. Tech took the doubles point to start the day but was unable to overcome the ‘Hoos in singles play as it broke a seven-match winning streak.

The doubles tandem of freshmen Ilinca Stoica and Kelly Williford has been nearly unstoppable this year, sitting at 9-4 on the top doubles spot. Doubles play has been one of Tech’s strongest points this season, dropping the doubles point in just two of the 16 matches.

Tech is led by freshman Ilinca Stoica, who is 10-4 on the year in the top spot, also winning eight of her last ten outings. Fellow freshman Raluca Mita has also been dominating her competition lately, going 9-1 in the past few matches.

North Carolina enters the weekend at 16-1 on the year, 2-0 in conference play. It is led by No. 9 Gina Suarez-Malaguti, who is 6-4 on the year in the top spot. No. 25 Whitney Kay has seen great success this year from the three-spot, going 8-1 so far, while also going undefeated in her few appearances on courts 1 and 2. The Tar Heels boast two more nationally ranked players, while the pairing of Ashley Dai and Kay rank 22nd nationally.

Five of the six singles courts are occupied by nationally ranked Blue Devils. Duke sits at 11-3 on the year 2-0 on conference action. Hanna Mar is the highest-ranking Blue Devil, sitting at No. 19 in the country while boasting a 5-2 combined record in the top two spots. Ester Goldfield is also among the nation’s best, sitting at No. 52 with a 5-1 record in the three spot. Doubles pairing of Mary Clayton and Goldfield are the No. 8 doubles teams in the country and are 7-2 in top-spot play.

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

HokieSports Shop