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Freshman Natalie Novotna of the Virginia Tech women’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals in the main singles draw at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Regional on Monday, at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center, in Norfolk, Virginia.

Championship Central

Entering the main bracket as an unseeded player, the Vysoka nad Labem, Czech Republic, native tallied her fourth victory of the tournament, besting Old Dominion’s Borislava Botusharova in straight sets (6-4, 6-3). Botusharova was seeded at No. 8, as Novotna also collected wins over VCU’s No. 14-seed Anna Rasmussen and William & Mary’s No. 2-seed Ekaterina Stepanova in the first and third round, respectively.

“Today’s singles match was difficult,” Novotna said. “We played a lot of long rallies. I was down, 4-3, in the first set and then one ball decided the whole match.”

Novotna will square off against another seeded player, as she faces Marshall’s No. 5-seed Derya Turhan at 10:30 a.m. The final round will take place in the afternoon, as the victor will face the winner of William & Mary’s Marie Faure and Virginia’s Cassie Mercer.

The champion of the singles bracket earns an automatic berth in the ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 3-6, held at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.

Of note, No. 42 Francesca Fusinato and No. 94 Elena Cerezo-Codina competed in the quarterfinals of the main singles draw, dropping their first match of the five-day tournament. Fusinato fell to Faure by a score of 6-2, 7-6 (3), while Cerezo-Codina dropped a 6-4, 6-3 setback to Turhan.

In doubles action, Novotna and Cerezo-Codina struggled against Maryland’s Alexandra Stanova and Kristina Hovsepyan, falling by a score of 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10) in the semifinal round of the main doubles draw.

“Elena and I had bad luck, but our opponent played really well,” Novotna added. “The match was so close, and we had a chance to win. It just wasn’t enough.”

A recap will be available following each day of competition at HokieSports.com.

RESULTS/UPCOMING MATCHES:

Singles Main Bracket:

Natalie Novotna (Tech) vs. Borislava Botusharova (Old Dominion), 6-4, 6-3

Marie Faure (William & Mary) def. Francesca Fusinato (Tech), 6-2, 7-6 (3)

Derya Turhan (Marshall) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech), 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Main Bracket:

Stanova/ Hovsepyan (UMD) def. Cerezo-Codina/Novotna (Tech), 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10)

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