Hokies take a swing through North Carolina

Tech takes on two top-20 programs this weekend, squaring off aginst No. 4 North Carolina on Friday and No. 17 Duke on Sunday

March 23, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team hits the road once again, as the Hokies swings through North Carolina for a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) matches this weekend.

Tech (7-6, 0-4 ACC) will square off against No. 4 North Carolina (18-1, 5-0 ACC) on Friday, at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, followed by a match against No. 17 Duke (9-3, 3-0 ACC) on Sunday, at the Ambler Tennis Stadium. The match against the Tar Heels will start at 3 p.m., while the contest against the Blue Devils is scheduled to begin at noon.

Last season, Virginia Tech was narrowly edged by then-No. 2 North Carolina, falling in a 4-3 hard-fought battle on April 8 in Blacksburg. Of note, current Hokies’ Elena Cerezo-Codina and Katherine Butler each recorded singles victories on their respective courts in the setback.

Virginia Tech and Duke will face each other for the 23rd time on Sunday, with the Blue Devils owning a 20-2 all-time series advantage. However, The Hokies have won two of the last four meetings, topping the Blue Devils in both the 2013 and 2016 seasons. Last year, Tech captured a 5-2 win over then-No. 6 Duke on March 6 in Blacksburg, handing the Blue Devils their first conference loss of the season.

In its last weekend of competition, Tech dropped its third straight 4-3 loss in ACC play to then-No. 23 Wake Forest on March 19, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg. The Hokies won the doubles point for the first time since Feb 25., but it wasn’t enough, as the Demon Deacons captured four of six singles matches to secure the victory. Cerezo-Codina and Caroline Daxhelet each recorded singles victories in the loss.

“We have had some tough matches this month, but we are very encouraged because we are just a point away from defeating these programs in the top 25,” said coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods. “We are continuing to learn from each match we play to help us prepare for the next.”

Freshman Natalie Novotna and senior Francesca Fusinato are ranked in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) top-125 poll, checking in at No. 97 and No. 108, respectively. Novotna holds a team-best 11-1 mark, primarily playing at the No. 3 position. She also shows two wins at the No. 2 slot and three victories at the No. 4 slot. Fusinato has won five of her last seven matches at the No. 1 slot, upsetting three ranked opponents in the process. She also boasts five wins over ranked opponents this season.

Most recently, North Carolina picked up a pair of road wins, defeating both Miami and Florida State by a score of 6-1 on March 17 and March 19, respectively. The Tar Heels enter the weekend having won their last 48 matches at home and 33 in a row against ACC opponents during the regular season.

Hayley Carter, the reigning ACC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, leads the Tar Heel roster with a No. 2 singles ranking. She is 24-3 in singles play this season, including a perfect 14-0 record in dual matches. The Tar Heels’ squad also boast four other ranked singles players in No. 9 Sara Daavettila, No. 23 Jessie Aney, No. 40 Alexa Graham and No. 77 Makenna Jones. Additionally, Aney and Carter are targeted as the top-ranked doubles squad in the country, followed by Daavettila and Aney at No. 49 and Aney and Cassandra Vazquez at No. 69.

Duke is coming off back-to-back ACC wins over Florida State and Miami on March 17 and March 19, respectively. The Blue Devils shut out the Seminoles, 7-0, and then defeated the Hurricane by a score of 5-2 two days later. Duke’s 3-0 start in league play has been fueled by solid singles play, as the Blue Devils are 15-3 in ACC singles action.

Duke has four ranked singles players, led by Meible Chi at No. 25. She is 24-9 in singles play this season and has recorded a 9-3 mark in dual-match play. Samantha Harris also checks in at No. 49, followed by Chalena Scholl at No. 52 and Kaitlyn McCarthy at No. 76. Additionally, the Blue Devils have two doubles teams with Chi and McCarthy at No. 26 and Scholl and McCarthy at No. 61.

Of note, Duke will play Virginia in an ACC matchup Friday afternoon, before Virginia Tech comes to town on Sunday.

Live results for North Carolina can be found at HokieSports.com, and if a live scores link becomes available for Duke, it will be posted at Hokiesports.com as well.

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

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