Virginia Takes 5-2 Win At Louisville On Friday
March 16, 2018
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 26 Virginia (8-4, 3-2 ACC) women’s tennis team returned to action on Friday, picking up a road win in conference play with a 5-2 victory at No. 49 Louisville (12-3, 2-2 ACC).
Virginia captured the doubles point along with singles wins from Rosie Johanson (Abbotsford, British Columbia), Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine), Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Hunter Bleser (New Braunfels, Texas) to secure the win.
“The team showed a lot of mental and emotional toughness today,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “Doubles was very tight, but everyone stayed composed, clear-headed and executed the way they needed to execute in some very close matches.
“I was very proud of the way Meghan and Rosie bounced back after losing a tough doubles match. They came out so strong in singles and really set the tone for the rest of the match. I’m extremely proud of the resilience everyone showed today. No matter the score or situation, everyone fought hard for every point and every ball. It was a very solid performance and we look to build off of it going into our next match.”
After Louisville took the doubles match on court one, the Cavaliers secured the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. The duo of Teodora Radosavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Erica Susi (Vero Beach, Fla.) won 6-4 on court three. The pairing of Gullickson and Cassie Mercer (Huntington, W.Va.) then locked up the double point with a 7-6 victory on court two.
Virginia worked quickly in singles to secure the win, picking up the victories on courts one, three and six in straight sets. Johanson, who is ranked No. 72 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings, won 6-1, 6-2 over Mariana Humberg on court one.
Bleser then pushed the Cavaliers out to a three-point lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Sena Suswam on court six, before Kelley clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Abbie Pahz on court three.
Gullickson closed out the singles wins with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 win over Raven Neely on court four. The singles win pushed Virginia out to the 5-0 lead.
Louisville would then win the remaining two singles matches on courts five and two for the 5-2 margin of victory for the Cavaliers.
Virginia returns to action on Sunday (March 18), closing its weekend road trip with an 11 a.m. match at Notre Dame.
No. 26 Virginia 5, No. 49 Louisville 2
Singles
1. No. 72 Rosie Johanson def. Mariana Humberg (UL), 6-1, 6-2
2. Aleksandra Mally def. Cassie Mercer (UL), 7-5, 4-6, 0-1
3. Meghan Kelley def. Abbie Pahz (UL), 6-3, 6-3
4. Chloe Gullickson def. Raven Neely (UL), 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
5. Tiffany Huber (UL) def. Teodora Radosavljevic 6-4, 7-6
6. Hunter Bleser def. Sena Suswam (UL), 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 4, 5, 2
Doubles
1. Humberg/Pahz (UL) def. No. 7 Johanson/Kelley, 6-4
2. Gullickson/Mercer def. Neely/Suswam (UL), 7-6
3. Radosavljevic/Susi def. Mally/Rodriguez (UL), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2