No. 18 Virginia Downs William & Mary 6-1 On Thursday
March 29, 2018
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 18 Virginia (12-4, 6-2 ACC) women’s tennis team won its fifth consecutive match on Thursday, taking a 6-1 victory over William & Mary (10-8) at the Snyder Tennis Center.
Virginia claimed the doubles point before taking five-of-six singles matches to grab the win over the Tribe. Singles winners for the Cavaliers included senior Teodora Radosavljevic (Belgrade, Serbia), junior Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine), and sophomores Hunter Bleser (New Braunfels, Texas), Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Rosie Johanson (Abbotsford, British Columbia).
“I am very proud of the composure, toughness and determination of our team today,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “We played a very good William & Mary team who made us earn every point. It was great to see the belief each lady showed in themselves, and each other, throughout some very close matches.
“We have not been outside much this year and the conditions were challenging with strong winds, so to see the way our team handled that adversity was fantastic. It was a great outdoor match for us and I definitely believe we got better today.”
The Cavaliers won the doubles point with victories on courts one and two. The pairing of Johanson and Kelley, ranked No. 12 in the nation, worked quickly in their match for a 6-1 victory on court one. The duo of Gullickson and Cassie Mercer (Huntington, W.Va.) won 6-2 on court two to lock up the doubles point for the home team.
In singles action, the Cavaliers got a quick win from Radosavljevic on court five as the senior won in straight sets. She defeated Olivia Thaler 6-4, 6-1 to get Virginia its second point of the match.
Johanson followed, taking a three-set victory on court one over No. 111 Rosie Cheng. Johanson, who is ranked No. 74 in singles, won 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to push the Cavaliers within a point of securing the overall victory. That point came from Kelley on court three, as she defeated Natalia Perry 7-6 (1), 6-3 to lock up the victory.
Gullickson gave Virginia its fifth point of the day by claiming a super tiebreak on court four, winning 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (5) over Lauren Goodman.
William & Mary then got on the board with a win on court two, as Clara Tanielian won a super tiebreak over Virginia’s Mercer 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (7).
Bleser then closed the match out, fighting back in a full third set on court six to take down Ekaterina Stepanova 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3.
Virginia will return to action on Saturday morning, hosting No. 24 Florida State in a 10 a.m. match at the Snyder Tennis Center. It will be an alumni reunion match for the Cavaliers who will welcome back former players with a recognition between doubles and singles.
No. 18 Virginia 6, No. 45 William & Mary 1
Singles
1. No. 74 Rosie Johanson def. No. 111 Rosie Cheng (WM), 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
2. Clara Tanielian (WM) def. Cassie Mercer, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (7)
3. Meghan Kelley def. Natalia Perry (WM), 7-6 (1), 6-3
4. Chloe Gullickson def. Lauren Goodman (WM), 7-5, 4-7, 1-0 (5)
5. Teodora Radosavljevic def. Olivia Thaler (WM), 6-4, 6-1
6. Hunter Bleser def. Ekaterina Stepanova (WM), 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3, 4, 2, 6
Doubles
1. No. 12 Johanson/Kelley def. Okuyama/Tanielian (WM), 6-1
2. Gullickson/Mercer def. Goodman/Perry (WM), 6-2
3. Radosavljevic/Susi vs. Cheng/Thaler (WM), 5-2 (unfinished)
Order of Finish: 1, 2