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March 5, 2003
MIAMI, FLA – The No. 39 Virginia women’s tennis team continued their strong play during their spring break trip to Florida, defeating Florida International 5-2 on Wednesday to win their third match of the trip and move their overall record to 7-3.
The Cavaliers took control of the match early by sweeping the doubles matches for a 1-0 lead. The No. 56 ranked team of Henriette Williams (Raleigh, N.C.) and Jennifer Tuchband (Millburn, N.J.) won at No. 1 doubles. The team of first-years Lauren Bruch (Lake Forest, Ill.) and Kyle Montgomery (Charlottesville, Va.) won their first match as team at No. 3 doubles to clinch the point. Fellow first-years Kristen James (Clifton, Va.) and Lori Stern (Ojai, Calif.) won at No. 2 doubles to complete the sweep.
Virginia took that momentum into the singles by taking four matches in convincing fashion. Tuchband lost only one game in defeating Mei Ly at No. 2 singles, while Williams, James, and Dora Bechliwanis (Etobicoke, Ont.) all lost only two games in route to victory at No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 singles.
“All of our players did a wonderful job today,” stated Virginia head coach Phil Rogers. “We have some warriors on this team that battled hard against a tough, scrappy team in FIU. We were challenged today and I thought we did an excellent job of rising to that challenge.”
The Cavaliers will conclude their Florida trip on Friday as they visit No. 22 Miami.
No. 39 Virginia 5, Florida International 2
Singles:1. Henriette Williams (UVa) def. Desanka Jovanovic (FIU) 6-1, 6-12. Jennifer Tuchband (UVa) def. Mei Ly (FIU) 6-1, 6-03. Bruna Discordia (FIU) def. Lori Stern (UVa) 7-5, 6-14. Kristen James (UVa) def. Christine Suard (FIU) 6-0, 6-25. Dora Bechliwanis (UVa) def. Courtney Jonson (FIU) 6-1, 6-16. Davina Duronio (FIU) def. Marta Bechliwanis (UVa) 3-6, 6-4, 10-7
Doubles:1. No. 56 Tuchband/Williams (UVa) def. Discordia/Ly (FIU) 8-52. K. James/Stern (UVa) def. Jovanovic/Suard (FIU) 8-43. Bruch/Montgomery (UVa) def. Duronio/Jonson (FIU) 9-7