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Virginia Blanks Fairleigh Dickinson 4-0 in NCAA Tournament
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May 11, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia opened the 2013 NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament with a convincing 4-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday (May 11) at Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (18-9) will play Texas (18-10) in the second round on Sunday (May 12) at 1 p.m. The Longhorns defeated William & Mary, 4-0, earlier today.
“Give credit to both teams,” Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeau said. “I was really proud of our effort. I thought we came ready to play and we played really well. Tomorrow’s match against Texas is going to be a tough match and that’s what I like about our season. We’ve had to play a lot of tough matches and we’ll be ready for Texas.”
The Cavaliers won the doubles point, claiming wins at Nos. 1 and 2. Freshman Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and senior Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) beat Anna Rapoport and Nicole Chis 8-1 at No. 1. Junior Li Xi (Kunming, China) and senior Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) clinched the point with an 8-2 win over Egzona Morina and Celine Maier at No. 2.
Virginia then posted wins at Nos. 1, 3 and 6 singles to cruise to the 4-0 win. Elbaba blanked Rapoport 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1, Xi defeated Chis 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 and Fuccillo beat Manuela Leme 6-3, 6-0 at No. 6.
The Virginia-Texas winner advances to the NCAA Round of 16 on Friday, May 17 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex at the Atkins Tennis Center on the University of Illinois campus. The Cavaliers are seeking their third consecutive NCAA Round of 16 berth.