Cavaliers Down William & Mary 6-1
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 25 Virginia women’s tennis team won its second match in three days, topping No. 51 William & Mary 6-1 Wednesday afternoon at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. The Cavaliers improve to 5-2 on the season and will open conference play this weekend.
The Cavaliers opened the match by winning the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) and Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) jumped out to an 8-1 win over Anik Cepeda and Carmen Pop at No. 1 doubles. Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) and Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) sealed the opening point for the Cavaliers with an 8-2 win at No. 2 over Ragini Acharya and Katie Kargi. The Tribe (4-6) won at No. 3 doubles, where Marlan Mesgarzadeh and Lauren Sabacinski defeated Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Neela Vaez (Perrysburg, Ohio) 8-3.
In singles, William & Mary drew even at 1-1 with Pop’s 7-6, 6-1 win over Stevens at No. 4. Virginia retook the lead, 2-1, when Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) downed Cepeda 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 6 position. At No. 5, Tomljanovic defeated Sabacinski 6-3, 6-2 to make the score 3-1. The match was clinched for Virginia with a pair of simultaneous wins, as Vierra topped Nina Vulovich at 7-6, 6-1 at No. 3 and Hardenbergh completed a 7-5, 6-0 win over Acharya at No. 1. Fraser completed the match with a win over Mesgarzadeh at No. 2 in a third-set match tiebreaker.
“I am really happy for the team,” said head coach Mark Guilbeau. “This was their best match overall to date and there were lots of positive signs for the upcoming matches. I was very impressed with No. 1 and No.2 doubles, as well as the steps we are taking to improve at No. 3. The team performed very well in terms of executing patterns directed at the opponent’s weaknesses. It was great to see the consistency balanced with very aggressive, offensive tennis.”
The Cavaliers will open ACC play on Friday as they visit Boston College. The match will now begin at 1:15 p.m. in Chestnut Hill. Virginia returns home for a doubleheader on Sunday, hosting Maryland at noon and Old Dominion at 6 p.m.
No. 25 Virginia 6, No. 51 William & Mary 1
Doubles:
1. Fraser/Stevens (UVa) def. Cepeda/Pop (W&M) 8-1
2. #53 Hardenbergh/Vierra (UVa) def. Acharya/Kargl (W&M) 8-2
3. Mesgarzadeh/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Tomljanovic/Vaez (UVa) 8-3
Singles:
1. #38 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) def. Ragini Acharya (W&M) 7-5, 6-0
2. Emily Fraser (UVa) def. Marlan Mesgarzadeh (W&M) 6-3, 6-7(9), 10-2
3. Erin Vierra (UVa) def. Nina Vulovich (W&M) 7-6(3), 6-1
4. Carmen Pop (W&M) def. Jennifer Stevens (UVa) 7-6(6), 6-1
5. Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) def. Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) 6-3, 6-2
6. Maria Fuccillo (UVa) def. Anik Cepeda (W&M) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 1,2,3
Singles: 4,6,5,3,1,2