Virginia Wins Blue/Gray Tennis Classic Championship
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 12 Virginia women’s tennis team won the championship at the 2012 Blue/Gray Tennis Classic with a 4-3 victory over No. 20 Alabama in Sunday’s final at Lagoon Park. The Cavaliers improved to 9-2 with the win, while the Crimson Tide fell to 5-2.
“On behalf of the whole team, we would like to thank everyone associated with the Blue/Gray Tournament, especially Paul Winn and then our four host families,” said assistant coach Troy Porco. “It was a very close match between two teams that competed very hard and we were able to come out with a great victory. Congrats to Alabama on a great tournament, as they played well all week.”
Alabama opened the match by winning the doubles point. Taylor Lindsey and Yasmine Ebada topped Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) and Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) at No. 3, while Mary Anne MacFarlane and Antonia Foehse downed Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) 8-5 at No. 2.
In singles, Virginia drew even as Hardenbergh cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 2 over Alexa Guarachi. Li Xi (Kunming, China) gave the Cavaliers the lead, 2-1, with her 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 over Courtney McLane. Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) extended the advantage to 3-1 with her 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 1 over MacFarlane. The Crimson Tide cut the lead in half as Taylor Lindsey edged Caryssa Peretz (Cherry Hill, N.J.) 6-4, 7-6 at the No. 6 position. The final two matches went to a third set. Foehse defeated Vierra 7-6, 0-6, 6-1 at No. 5 to tie the match, as it came down to the match at No. 4 to decide the title. In that match, Tomljanovic used a late break in the third set to score a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win over Alex Clay and give Virginia the championship.
Virginia will return home to host VCU on Friday. The match is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
#12 VIRGINIA 4, #20 ALABAMA 3
Doubles:
1. #39 McLane/Guarachi (Ala) led #33 Fraser/Xi (UVa) 6-5 DNF
2. MacFarlane/Foehse (Ala) def. Vierra/Tomljanovic (UVa) 8-5
3. Lindsey/Ebada (Ala) def. Fuccillo/Hardenbergh (UVa) 8-3
Singles:
1. #21 Emily Fraser (UVa) def. #15 Mary Anne MacFarlane (Ala) 7-6, 6-2
2. #41 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) def. #40 Alexa Guarachi (Ala) 6-0, 6-2
3. #94 Li Xi (UVa) def. Courtney McLane (Ala) 6-3, 6-1
4. Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) def. Alex Clay (Ala) 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
5. Antonia Foehse (Ala) def. #122 Erin Vierra (UVa) 7-6, 0-6, 6-1
6. Taylor Lindsey (Ala) def. Caryssa Peretz (UVa) 6-4, 7-6