No. 11 Virginia Hosts Eighth Annual Winter Invitational Jan. 19-21

Story Links

Jan. 17, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s tennis team begins its 2013 spring season this weekend as it hosts the eighth annual UVa Winter Invitational Saturday-Monday at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.

The UVa Winter Invitational will crown individual champions in singles and doubles, as no team scoring will be used. Each player will be assigned points per win and loss according to her position in singles and doubles. The players with the most points at the end of the weekend will be named the singles and doubles winners.

No. 13 Northwestern, No. 23 Tennessee and No. 34 Utah join Virginia in the tournament. The teams will play singles and doubles each day in a round-robin format. Action begins on Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. and on Monday at 9 a.m. Admission is free.

The Cavaliers returns four starters from last year’s team that won a school-record 20 matches and advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for the second consecutive season.

Senior co-captains Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) and Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) lead the Cavaliers into action.

Virginia freshman Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) is ranked No. 4 in the first ITA singles rankings of 2013. Elbaba won 10 matches at the 2012 ITA All-American and finished runner-up at the fall event. Freshman Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Li Xi (Kunming, China) are ranked No. 43 and No. 44, respectively.

ierra and freshman Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) are ranked No. 5 in doubles, while junior Xi and Nauta are ranked No. 10.

UVa Winter Invitational Schedule (Subject to Change)
Saturday – Virginia vs. Northwestern and Utah vs. Tennessee
Sunday – Virginia vs. Tennessee and Utah vs. Northwestern
Monday – Virginia vs. Utah and Tennessee vs. Northwestern