Tech finishes strong in singles, pulls out win in Pittsburgh

Tech rallied in singles play and captured five straight victories to claim the team win over Pittsburgh

April 9, 2017

The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team closed out its 2017 regular-season road schedule with a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh Sunday held inside the University of Pittsburgh’s Alpa Tennis and Fitness Center.

Virginia Tech (9-10, 2-8 ACC) failed to capture the doubles point, but rallied in singles play and collected five straight victories to claim the team win over Pittsburgh (3-12, 0-11 ACC).

In doubles action, junior Elena Cerezo-Codina and freshman Natalie Novotna went 2-0 on the weekend, picking up Tech’s lone doubles victory of the day with a 6-3 decision over Pittsburgh’s Audrey Ann Blakely and Clara Lucas on court two. However, Tech ultimately dropped back-to-back matches on courts three and one, respectively, to hand the Panthers an early 1-0 lead over the Hokies.

Trailing Pittsburgh 1-0, Cerezo-Codina, Novotna, senior Francesca Fusinato and junior Caroline Daxhelet each collected victories on their respective courts to claim the match.

Cerezo-Codina made quick work of her opponent, only giving up three games in the first set, and captured a straight-set decision over Pittsburgh’s Gabriela Rezende (6-3, 6-0) on court three. No. 104 Novotna also rolled to a two-set win at the No. 2 slot, defeating Blakely by a score of 6-1, 6-4 and putting the Hokies up for good on the scoreboard.

No. 92 Fusinato won her 13th match of the season and bested Pittsburgh’s Amber Washington at the No. 1 slot by a score of 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

Only needing one more point to win the match, Daxhelet answered the call for the Hokies on court four and defeated Pittsburgh’s Callie Frey in a three-set battle. She dropped the first set, but only gave up two games in the final two sets to claim the victory (1-6, 6-1, 6-1).

With the match decided, senior Sansitha Nandakumar also picked up a 6-1, 6-4 win on court six over Pittsburgh’s Natsumi Okamoto.

Up next, Tech will return home and embark on a four-match homestand to close out the regular season starting with Syracuse on Thursday, April 13 at 11 a.m. The Hokies will then take on N.C. State in a Saturday afternoon matchup on April 15. The contest is slated to begin at 3 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: Amber Washington/Callie Frey (UP) def. #55 Caroline Daxhelet/Francesca Fusinato (Tech), 7-5

No. 2: Elena Cerezo-Codina/Natalie Novotna (Tech) def. Audrey Ann Blakely/Clara Lucas (UP), 6-3

No. 3: Gabriela Rezende/Jovana Knezevic (UP) def. Kathierine Butler/Shene Disbergen (Tech), 6-2

Singles Competition:

No. 1: #92 Francesca Fusinato (Tech) def. Amber Washington (UP), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

No. 2: #104 Natalie Novotna (Tech) def. Audrey Ann Blakely (UP), 6-1, 6-4

No. 3: Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech) def. Gabriela Rezende (UP), 6-3, 6-0

No. 4: Caroline Daxhelet (Tech) def. Callie Frey (UP), 1-6, 6-1, 6-1

No. 5: Clara Lucas (UP) def. Nancy Ghanem (Tech), 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (12-10)

No. 6: Sansitha Nandakumar (Tech) def. Natsumi Okamoto (UP), 6-1, 6-4

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

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