No. 13 Virginia Hosts Winter Invitational Saturday-Monday

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Jan. 17, 2014

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia women’s tennis team hosts the ninth annual UVa Winter Invitational Saturday-Monday (Jan. 18-20) 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. 31 Tennessee, No. 39 VCU, No. 58 Utah and Marshall 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 8 a.m. Admission is free.

The Cavaliers opened the season with a 5-2 win at No. 40 William & Mary on Wednesday. Virginia returns five starters from last year’s team that won 19 matches and advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for the third consecutive season.

Sophomore Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) is ranked No. 11 in singles, while sophomore Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is ranked No. 28, freshman Rachel Pierson (Princeton, N.J.) is ranked No. 43 and sophomore Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) is ranked No. 85. Elbaba and Pierson are ranked No. 8 in doubles.

Seniors Caryssa Peretz (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Li Xi (Kunming, China), sophomore Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) and freshman Marie Faure (Toulouse, France) are also big contributors to the team. Seniors Marjorie Baker (Washington, D.C.) and Clare Spooner (Williamsburg, Va.) provide depth for the Cavaliers.

Tennessee features No. 53 Eve Repic and No. 99 Joanna Henderson in singles and No. 43 Caitlyn Williams and Henderson in doubles.

VCU is led by No. 81 Yukako Noi, while Utah is led by No. 107 Tereza Bekerova.

Marshall is coached by John Mercer, the father of UVa recruit Cassie Mercer.

UVa Winter Invitational Schedule (Subject to Change)
Saturday, Jan. 18 – Virginia vs. Tennessee and Utah vs. VCU/Marshall
Sunday, Jan. 19 – Virginia vs. Utah and Tennessee vs. VCU/Marshall
Monday, Jan. 20 – Virginia vs. VCU/Marshall and Tennessee vs. Utah