Tech downs Purdue, 7-0, on the road

The Hokies won their second match in a row, improving to 4-1 on the year

February 4, 2017

	F
Georgia Tech	17
Virginia Tech	26
Box Score

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team cruised past Purdue Saturday afternoon, as the Hokies claimed a 7-0 victory at the Schwartz Tennis Center, in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The Hokies (4-1) started off strong against the Boilermakers (5-2), as the team won back-to-back matches at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. The junior duo of Elena Cerezo-Codina and Caroline Daxhelet, who are ranked No. 59 nationally, defeated Purdue’s Rafaella Baquerizo and Nicole Robinson to capture a 6-2 decision on court one. At the No. 2 slot, senior Francesca Fusinato and junior Katherine Butler bested Purdue’s Natalia Davila and Andjela Djokovic, 6-4, to capture the Hokies’ first match point of the day.

In singles action, the Boilermakers forced four of their first sets to a tiebreak or seventh game, but the Hokies did not give in, as Tech wasted little time and recorded three straight victories to claim the match.

“I was very proud of our teams fight today,” said coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. “Everyone fought for each point and really stayed tough through some tight sets and deuce games. When we got down in a few matches, we found solutions to dig our way out. The energy displayed by our whole team today, whether playing or supporting, helped us get that win. Now, we will prepare for the next one.”

Fusinato picked up the pace at the No. 1 singles slot and defeated Robinson (6-1, 6-2), followed by senior Sansitha Nandakumar’s 7-6, 6-4 victory over Purdue’s Marta Ruedas on court five.

Only needing one more point to win the match, freshman Natalie Novotna answered the call for the Hokies on court four. The Czech Republic native won her fourth match in a row, defeating Baquerizo in straight sets by a score of 7-6, 6-4.

With the match decided, freshman Nancy Ghanem (7-5, 6-4), Cerezo-Codina (5-7, 6-4, 6-2) and No. 47 Daxhelet (4-6, 6-0, 6-3) each picked up victories at the No. 6, No. 2 and No. 3 slots, respectively.

Tech returns home for a doubleheader against Marshall and Radford on Sunday, Feb. 12, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center. The match against the Thundering Herd is set to begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the Highlanders at 4 p.m.

Fans can follow all the action during each match of the 2017 season by following the squad on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Doubles Competition:

No. 1: #59 Elena Cerezo-Codina/Caroline Daxhelet (VT) def. Rafaella Baquerizo/Nicole Robinson (PU), 6-2

No. 2: Katherine Butler/Francesca Fusinato (VT) def. Natalia Davila/Andjela Djokovic (PU), 6-4

No. 3: Marta Ruedas/Alex Sabe (PU) vs. Sansitha Nandakumar/Natalie Novotna (VT), 5-5 uf

Singles Competition:

No. 1: Francesca Fusinato (VT) def. Nicole Robinson (PU), 6-1, 6-2

No. 2: Elena Cerezo-Codina (VT) def. Andjela Djokovic (PU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2

No. 3: #47 Caroline Daxhelet (VT) def. Alex Sabe (PU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-3

No. 4: Natalie Novotna (VT) def. Rafaella Baquerizo (PU), 7-6, 6-4

No. 5: Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) def. Marta Ruedas (PU), 7-6, 6-4

No. 6: Nancy Ghanem (VT) def. Deborah Suarez (PU), 7-5, 6-4

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,5,4,6,2,3)

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