Women's Tennis Falls at Tennessee 5-2

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. The No. 29 Virginia women’s tennis team fell to No. 22 Tennessee 5-2 Sunday afternoon at the Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center. The Cavaliers fell to 4-2 overall, with both losses coming at the hands of the Lady Vols. Tennessee also defeated Virginia 5-2 last week in an ITA National Indoor qualifier in Coral Gables, Fla.

“This was a tough match to lose,” said Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeau. “We made a lot of progress over the last week. Although the final score was the same, this match was played at a much higher level and certainly was a lot closer. We have a lot to be positive about and we need to continue to maintain this level of hunger and desire. We have faced some things away from home the last two weeks that will make us better in the long run.”

The Cavaliers fell behind 1-0 by losing the doubles point for the first time this season. After the Lady Vols won at No. 1 and No. 3, the Cavaliers took the final match at No. 2, as Amanda Rales (Bethesda, Md.) and Neela Vaez (Perrysburg, Ohio) topped Jennifer Meredith and Rosalia Alda in a tiebreaker.

In singles, the Cavaliers rallied to take a 2-1 lead as Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) downed Alda 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 singles and Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) topped Meredith 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. However, the Lady Vols answered by winning the other four singles matches, all in three sets, to take the 5-2 win.

Virginia will return to action in two weeks as it hosts a doubleheader on Feb. 21 at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers host Marshall at 9 a.m. and Richmond at 3 p.m.

No. 22 Tennessee 5, No. 29 Virginia 2

Doubles
1. Whoriskey/Pluskota (UT) def. #32 Fraser/Stevens (UVa) 8-2
2. Rales/Vaez (UVa) def. Meredith/Alda (UT) 8-7
3. Zubor/Sorbello (UT) def. Steiro/Yahner (UVa) 8-3

Singles
1. #92 Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) def. #42 Jennifer Stevens (UVa) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
2. Natalie Pluskota (UT) def. Amanda Rales (UVa) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
3. Lindsey Hardenebrgh (UVa) def. Rosalia Alda (UT) 6-0, 6-2
4. #82 Emily Fraser (UVa) def. Jennifer Meredith (UT) 6-1, 6-3
5. #77 Samantha Orlin (UT) def. Karoline Steiro (UVa) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
6. Zsofia Zubor (UT) def. Neela Vaez (UVa) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3

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