Virginia Women's Tennis Tops VCU 4-2 in NCAA First Round

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May 11, 2007

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Virginia women’s tennis team downed VCU 4-2 Friday afternoon in a NCAA Tournament first round match at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. The Cavaliers advance to the second round of the tournament for the second consecutive year, and meet host Clemson on Saturday.

“Our team did a nice job of all focusing together and making this match really important,” head coach Mark Guilbeau said. “They handled the heat well by playing smart and composed. A lot of positives can be taken from this match, not just heading into tomorrow, but also long term.”

The Cavaliers (12-11) grabbed the early edge by winning the doubles point. Brintney Larson (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Amanda Rales (Bethesda, Md.) got Virginia started with an 8-2 win over Lena Leonchuk and Maria Klokotzky at No. 3 doubles. The Rams (21-9) drew even as No. 14 ranked Olga Borisova and Marianna Yuferova defeated Caroline Hammond (Williamsburg, Va.) and Lara Alexander (London, England) 8-2 at No. 1 singles. With the opening point on the line, Kristen McVitty (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) topped Vera Petrashevitch and Tatsiana Uvarova 8-5 to give Virginia a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Cavalier advantage grew to 2-0 as Stevens posted the highest ranked win of her career, defeating No. 29 Uvarova 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. VCU rallied to even the match, 2-2, as Borisova defeated Larson at No. 4 singles and Yuferova topped Maggie Yahner (Las Vegas, Nev.) at No. 2 singles. Lindsey Pereira (Arlington, Texas) gave Virginia the lead back, 3-2, as she completed a 7-5, 6-2 win over Klokotzky at No. 5 singles. McVitty then clinched the match for the Cavaliers as she topped Viktoria Konstantinova 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 3 position.

“Jenny Stevens had an outstanding performance today,” Guilbeau said. “To have that performance at the top lineup against one of the elite players in college tennis does so much for the rest of the team. I was impressed with how she went about it. Overall, the win was a team effort. All eight girls had a role to play and did a good job both on and off the court.”

The Cavaliers will meet Clemson, the tournament’s No. 7 seed, in a second round match Saturday at 11 a.m. Clemson defeated Coastal Carolina 4-0 in the other first round match Friday in the Clemson regional.

No. 45 Virginia 4, No. 29 VCU 2

Doubles:
1. #14 Borisova/Yuferova (VCU) def. Hammond/Alexander (UVa) 8-2
2. McVitty/Stevens (UVa) def. Petrashevitch/Uvarova (VCU) 8-5
3. Rales/Larson (UVa) def. Leonchuk/Klokotzky (VCU) 8-2

Singles:
1. Jennifer Stevens (UVa) def. #29 Tatsiana Uvarova (VCU) 6-2, 6-2
2. #100 Marianna Yuferova (VCU) def. Maggie Yahner (UVa) 6-2, 6-2
3. Kristen McVitty (UVa) def. Viktoria Konstantinova (VCU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Olga Borisova (VCU) def. Brintney Larson (UVa) 6-2, 6-1
5. Lindsey Pereira (UVa) def. Maria Klokotzky (VCU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Caroline Hammond (UVa) vs. Lena Leonchuk (VCU) 6-2, 2-6, 2-2 DNF