No. 14 Virginia Defeats No. 12 Alabama 4-1
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Championship Bracket | ITA Event Page | Virginia Tournament Central
Feb. 9, 2014
CHARLOTTESVILLE – No. 14 Virginia defeated No. 12 Alabama 4-1 in consolation action Sunday (Feb. 9) at the 2014 ITA National Women’s Tennis Indoor Team Championships at Boar’s Head Sports Club.
The Cavaliers (5-1) went 2-1 in the tournament, defeating No. 7 Texas A&M (4-0) and the Crimson Tide after a first round loss to top-seed Florida (4-2).
Virginia took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3 after retiring due to injury at No. 2. No. 8 Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and freshman Rachel Pierson (Princeton, N.J.) beat Mary Anne Daines and Danielle Spielmann 6-2 at No. 1. Sophomores Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) clinched the point with a 6-2 win over Emily Zabor and Luicelena Perez at No. 3. Alabama’s Maya Jansen and Carmen Blanco were leading 3-1 when senior Li Xi (Kunming, China) and sophomore Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) were forced to retire due to injury.
Jansen rallied for a 0-6, 6-3, 14-12 win over No. 43 Pierson at No. 3 to tie the score at 1-1. Virginia grabbed a 3-1 lead when No. 8 Elbaba beat Daines 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 and No. 85 Nauta beat Zabor 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4. Epstein clinched the win with a 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Perez at No. 5.
No. 28 Collins had five match points in hand at No. 2, leading 9-4 in the third-set super-tiebreaker at No. 2 when the match was abandoned.
Virginia plays at No. 12 Alabama on Saturday, Feb. 15. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
Duke and UCLA will meet in the title match of the 2014 ITA National Women’s Tennis Indoor Team Championships on Monday at 11 a.m. Fans can attend the championship match FREE of charge.
Live online video for the championship match is available for FREE at VirginiaSports.com/allaccess.
Live stats for the final can be found at VirginiaSports.com and fans are encouraged to visit ITATennis.com for comprehensive information about the championship.