The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team preps for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Regional set for Oct. 14-18, at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center, in Norfolk, Virginia.
“Regionals is always a great test, as it showcases the best talent in our region,” said coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. “You also have the opportunity to play a lot of matches in a short period of time. I am looking forward to seeing the team continue to implement all they have been working on in our practices into competitive play.
“We will see a few teams from this tournament during our spring season, so it’s a great chance for us to get a glance at what the spring season holds for us. I am looking forward to a great weekend of tennis.”
The tournament, hosted by Old Dominion, begins on Friday, Oct. 14 and will conclude on Tuesday, Oct. 18, with the singles and doubles finals. The Hokies send six players to compete for Tech in the upcoming draws.
In singles action, senior Sansitha Nandakumar and junior Sarah Baron will compete in the qualifying singles bracket on Friday, Oct. 14. Nandakumar will face James Madison’s Kimmy Herrock, while Baron squares off against Pitt’s Gabrielle Rezende.
Senior Francesca Fusinato, juniors Elena Cerezo-Codina and Caroline Daxhelet and freshman Natalie Novotna also will participate in the main singles draw on Saturday, Oct. 15. No. 42 Fusinato, No. 94 Cerezo-Codina and No. 96 Daxhelet are listed as three of the top-eight seeds in the main singles bracket at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
The Hokie trio competed at the ITA Women’s All-American Championships last week. Fusinato earned a spot in the main singles draw when the selections were first released on Sept. 13, and the doubles tandem of Cerezo-Codina and Daxhelet won three matches over the course of two days to become the first pairing in program history to qualify for the main doubles draw.
Of note, Tech will send a pair of doubles teams to the five-day tournament. The doubles tandems of Fusinato and Daxhelet and Cerezo-Codina and Novotna will compete in the main doubles draw on Saturday, Oct. 15. Both squads have a first round bye, as the second round matches begin at 9 a.m.
Fusinato and Daxhelet, seeded at No. 2, will pair up for the first time this fall, while Cerezo-Codina and Novotna competed at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro Circuit in September.
A recap will be available following each day of competition at HokieSports.com.
Singles Qualifying Bracket (Oct.14):
Sansitha Nandakumar (Tech) vs. Kimmy Herrock (JMU)
Sarah Baron (Tech) vs. Gabrielle Rezende (Pitt)
Singles Main Bracket (Oct. 15):
Francesca Fusinato (Tech) vs. Sara Swift (Georgetown)
Caroline Daxhelet (Tech) vs. Qualifier
Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech) vs. Camille Favero (Virginia)
Natalie Novotna (Tech) vs. Anna Rasmussen (VCU)
Doubles Main Bracket (Oct. 15):
Elena Cerezo-Codina/Natalie Novotna (Tech) – first round bye
Francesca Fusinato/Caroline Daxhelet (Tech) – first round bye
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