Women's Tennis Falls to No. 4 Duke 5-2

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DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 17 Virginia women’s tennis team suffered its second close loss to a top-five opponent in as many days, falling 5-2 to No. 4 Duke on Sunday afternoon at the Ambler Tennis Stadium. The Cavaliers fell to 14-6 overall and 3-4 in the ACC, while the league-leading Blue Devils improve to 17-2 overall and 6-0 in the ACC.

Virginia opened the match strong by winning the doubles point. Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) topped Ellah Nze and Rachel Kahan 8-5 at No. 2 to give UVa the early edge. Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) and Caryssa Peretz (Cherry Hill, N.J.) gave the Cavaliers the opening point as they completed an 8-6 win at No. 3 over Monica Gorny and Mary Clayton.

The Blue Devils answered in singles, winning five of the six first sets. Elizabeth Plotkin’s 6-2, 6-4 win over Tomljanovic at No. 1 drew Duke even at 1-1. Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) gave the Cavaliers the lead again, 2-1, as she topped Nadine Fahoum 6-3, 6-1 at the top spot. But Duke was able to close out three other matches in straight sets to clinch the match and Kahan’s three-set win over Peretz at No. 5 made the final score 5-2.

The Cavaliers will play their final regular season home matches next weekend. They host NC State on Friday and Wake Forest on Saturday. Both matches are slated to start at noon at the Snyder Tennis Center and admission is free.

#4 Duke 5, #17 Virginia 2

Doubles:
1. Fahoum/Mar (Duke) def. #56 Hardenbergh/Vierra (UVa) 8-6
2. #28 Fraser/Tomljanovic (UVa) def. #71 Nze/Kahan (Duke) 8-5
3. Fuccillo/Peretz (UVa) def. #72 Gorny/Clayton (Duke) 8-6

Singles:
1. #54 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) def. #45 Nadine Fahoum (Duke) 6-3, 6-1
2. #77 Ellah Nze (Duke) def. #53 Emily Fraser (UVa) 7-5, 6-4
3. #13 Reka Zsilinszka (Duke) def. #99 Erin Vierra (Uva) 6-1, 6-2
4. #59 Elizabeth Plotkin (Duke) def. #84 Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) 6-2, 6-4
5. #72 Rachel Kahan (Duke) def. Caryssa Peretz (UVa) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
6. #64 Mary Clayton (Duke) def. Maria Fuccillo (UVa) 7-6, 6-4

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