No. 48 Tech drops hard-fought battle at Virginia, 4-3

The Hokies were able to win three of the six singles matches, but ultimately fell to the Cavaliers in the final match of the afternoon

March 5, 2017

	F
Massachusetts	3
(25) Virginia Tech	3
Box Score

BLACKSBURG – The No. 48-ranked Virginia Tech women’s tennis team dropped a hard-fought battle to in-state rival Virginia, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon, at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Hokies (7-4, 0-2 ACC) fell behind 1-0 to the Cavaliers (5-3, 3-0 ACC) in doubles play, as the team dropped back-to-back matches at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, respectively. The contest between the junior duo of Caroline Daxhelet and Elena Cerezo-Codina and UVA’s Chloe Gullickson and Cassie Mercer, the No. 40 ranked doubles tandem in the nation, was abandoned at 6-6 once the team point was clinched at the conclusion of the No. 3 doubles match.

In singles action, Tech was able to win three of the six singles matches.

Senior Sansitha Nandakumar cut the Hokies deficit to one, as she made quick work of her opponent to put the Hokies on the board early in singles play. She bested UVA’s Hunter Bleser in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5.

Freshman Natalie Novotna tied the team score at two apiece, as she recorded her 10th straight victory of the season – a team-best mark. She rolled on to a straight set win at the No. 3 slot against UVA’s Meghan Kelley (6-4, 7-6 (7-2), keeping her undefeated record afloat on court three.

Tech’s deficit grew after No. 92 Daxhelet fell to Gullickson at the No. 4 slot in a three-set battle. She dropped the first set, but claimed the second to force a three-set tiebreaker. However, Daxhelet could not find her groove the third set ultimately falling by a score of 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

With Tech down 3-2, senior Francesca Fusinato topped her fourth ranked opponent and second ITA top-50 player of the season to tie the match again with a win on court one. She captured the first set, but fell in the second. She was able to prevail in a third-set tiebreaker, as she cruised past No. 48 Mercer with a score of 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2.

With the match tied at three-all, all eyes shifted to court five for the deciding point which was won by Virginia, as UVA’s Teodora Radosavljevic took control in a second-set tiebreak to win 7-5, 7-6 (1) over freshman Nancy Ghanem and secure the victory.

"Our team had a tough loss today, and Virginia stepped up better on key points than we did," said coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. "We have positives to build off of from the match, and we will carry those into the next one at Clemson. Every conference match is tough and there are many more opportunities ahead of us."

Of note, Sunday’s match served as one point in the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Virginia529, the official savings plan of Virginia Tech Athletics. With Virginia’s victory, the Cavaliers have earned a point in the race for the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash. The score for the Clash is now Virginia Tech 9, Virginia 6. Learn more about Virginia529 and this competition at TheCommonwealthClash.com.

The Hokies return to the court on Sunday, March 12, for a rematch with Clemson. The match with the Tigers is set to begin at noon in Clemson, South Carolina.

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: #40 Chloe Gullickson/Cassie Mercer (UVA) vs. Caroline Daxhelet/Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech), 6-6 unfinished

No. 2: Rosie Johanson/Meghan Kelley (UVA) def. Katherine Butler/Francesca Fusinato (Tech), 6-2

No. 3: Hunter Bleser/Camille Favero (UVA) def. Sansitha Nandakumar/Natalie Novotna (Tech), 7-6 (9-7)

Singles Competition:

No. 1: Francesca Fusinato (Tech) def. #48 Cassie Mercer (UVA), 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2

No. 2: #66 Rosie Johanson (UVA) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech), 6-3, 6-2

No. 3: Natalie Novotna (Tech) def. Meghan Kelley (UVA), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

No. 4: Chloe Gullickson (UVA) def. #92 Caroline Daxhelet (Tech), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

No. 5: Teodora Radosavljevic (UVA) def. Nancy Ghanem (Tech), 7-5, 7-6 (7-1)

No. 6: Sansitha Nandakumar (Tech) def. Hunter Bleser (UVA), 6-3, 7-5

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

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