Tech edges West Virginia in a hard-fought battle

The Hokies will close out their non-conference schedule at home on Saturday, Feb. 25

February 18, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team edged West Virginia in a 4-3 battle on Saturday afternoon, held inside Ridgeview Racquet Club in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The Hokies (6-2) handed the Mountaineers (3-5) their second straight loss of the season, as Tech marked its second win in a row.

In doubles, senior Francesca Fusinato and junior Katherine Butler fell to WVU’s Habiba Shaker and Sofia Duran by a score of 6-1 on court two. The Hokies pulled even with a 6-3 win on court one from juniors Elena Cerezo-Codina and Caroline Daxhelet, who are ranked No. 51 nationally.

With the doubles point tied at one apiece, senior Sansitha Nandakumar and freshman Natalie Novotna competed in a tough battle on court three. The duo ultimately fell to WVU’s Paula Goetz and Lyn Yuen Choo by a score of 7-6 (13-11).

Trailing the Mountaineers 1-0, Novotna, Cerezo-Codina, Fusinato and Daxhelet collected victories on court three, two, one and four, respectively, to claim the match.

Novotona only gave up one game on court three to defeat Goetz in straight sets (6-1, 6-0), picking up her seventh win of the season – a team best mark. Cerezo-Codina followed suit at the No. 2 spot and defeated WVU’s Kaja Mrgole, 6-1, 7-5, to give the Hokies a 2-1 advantage.

No. 66 Fusinato also rolled to a straight set win at the No. 1 slot, as she defeated Shaker by a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Only need one more point to win the match, No. 52 Daxhelet bested WVU’s Christina Jordan and claimed the Hokies fourth match point of the day (7-5, 6-3).

The Hokies will return home to close out their non-conference schedule with a match against Old Dominion on Saturday, Feb. 25. First serve is set for noon.

Doubles Competition:

No. 1: #51 Elena Cerezo-Codina/Caroline Daxhelet (Tech) def. Kaja Mrgole/Christina Jordan (WVU), 6-3

No. 2: Habiba Shaker/Sofia Duran (WVU) def. Katherine Butler/Francesca Fusinato (Tech), 6-1

No. 3: Paula Goetz/Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU) def. Sansitha Nandakumar/Natalie Novotna (Tech), 7-6 (13-11)

Singles Competition:

No. 1: #66 Francesca Fusinato (Tech) def. Habiba Shaker (WVU), 6-2, 6-2

No. 2: Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech) def. Kaja Mrgole (WVU), 6-1, 7-5

No. 3: Natalie Novotna (Tech) def. Paula Goetz (WVU), 6-1, 6-0

No. 4: #52 Caroline Daxhelet (Tech) def. Christina Jordan (WVU), 7-5, 6-3

No. 5: Lyn Yuen Choo (WVU) def. Nancy Ghanem (Tech), 6-4, 7-6 (10-8)

No. 6: Sofia Duran (WVU) def. Katherine Butler (Tech), 6-2, 7-5

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

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