No. 15 Virginia Claims Victory At No. 30 Virginia Tech

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Box Score April 10, 2016

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Cavaliers pushed out to the early lead and never looked back on Sunday as No. 15 Virginia (12-9, 7-5 ACC) went on the road and picked up a 6-1 win at No. 30 Virginia Tech (14-7, 7-5 ACC).

The win over the Hokies also gave the Cavaliers another point in the Commonwealth Clash standings.

The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy.

Virginia currently leads the competition 9-5. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.

“It’s a happy and positive moment for this team,” said Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeau. “A lot of good words were shared after the match. It was clear from the start of this trip that the team was ready to approach the match in a very positive manner. Each player certainly did that today and showed a strong energy and presence on the courts. Both teams played very well and fought hard. It took our best effort today and we are very proud of the team for giving all they had.”

After grabbing the doubles point, the Cavaliers got singles wins out of No. 3 Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.), No. 93 Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Me.) to clinch the match. Cassie Mercer (Huntington, W.V.) and No. 17 Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) also picked up singles wins for the final margin of victory.

Virginia took the early lead in the match, grabbing wins on courts one and three in doubles. The pairing of Collins and Kelley won 6-1 on court one before the duo of Elbaba and Susi won 6-3 on court three to lock up the doubles point for the Cavaliers.

The Hokies tied the overall score at a point each with a win on court five in singles as Virginia Tech’s Raluca Mita defeated Erica Susi (Vero Beach, Fla.) 6-0, 6-3 to get on the board.

Collins answered, picking up a 6-0, 6-4 win over No. 49 Francesca Fusinato on court one that put the Cavaliers back on top in the overall match score.

Nauta and Kelley then clinched their matches within moments of each other to secure the win for the Cavaliers. Nauta won 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on court three over No. 125 Caroline Daxhelet, while Kelley won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 over Kelly Williford on court four.

Mercer extended the lead with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win on court six before Elbaba closed things out with her hard-fought victory on court two. Elbaba fought back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that saw the senior win five straight games in the second set to force a decisive third set.

Virginia will return to action next weekend, hosting Pittsburgh and No. 45 Notre Dame in a pair of matches at the Snyder Tennis Center.

No. 15 Virginia 6, No. 30 Virginia Tech 1
Doubles
No. 20 Collins/Kelley def. Fusinato/Williford, 6-1
Daxhelet/Mita def. Mercer/Nauta, 6-4
Elbaba/Susi def. Cerezo-Codina/Nandakumar, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
No. 3 Danielle Collins def. No. 49 Francesca Fusinato, 6-0, 6-4
No. 17 Julia Elbaba def. Elena Cerezo-Codina, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 93 Stephanie Nauta def. No. 125 Carolina Daxhelet, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
Meghan Kelley def. Kelly Williford, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Raluca Mita def. Erica Susi, 6-0, 6-3
Cassie Mercer def. Katherine Butler, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3, 4, 6, 2