TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –The top-20 match lived up to its billing on Thursday (April 11) with the tight battle coming down to the wire as No. 19 Virginia (16-6, 8-5 ACC) dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision at No. 12 Florida State (18-5, 10-3 ACC).

Virginia won the doubles point and claimed singles wins from senior Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine) and junior Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) in the contest. It is only the third time this season a team has won the doubles point against the Seminoles.

Despite the early advantage for Virginia, the home-standing Seminoles won four of six singles matches, including a gritty third-set tiebreak on court five, to take the dual win.

“Congratulations to FSU,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “It was a great match. I couldn’t be prouder of the fight and determination our team showed today. It was a battle until the very end. It was amazing to see Sofia (Munera) in that situation and truly embrace everything that comes with being the last match on the court. I felt like our team got a lot better today and I’m very proud of the effort, composure and belief they showed.”

The Cavaliers grabbed the doubles point, using wins on courts one and three to take the early lead on the Seminoles in the overall match score. The duo of Bleser and Kelley won 6-4 on court three to get things started before the No. 68 tandem of Gullickson and O’Dell would close things out with a 6-4 win on court one. 

In singles action, the Seminoles got on the board with a win on court two from Emmanuelle Salas over Vivian Glozman, 6-4, 6-0 before Kelley would push the Cavaliers back in front. Kelley, the No. 24 player in singles, worked quickly on court one to pick up  a 6-2, 6-1 victory over No. 34 Carla Touly.

Virginia would push the overall lead out to 3-1 with a win on court four from Gullickson. The junior, who is ranked No. 116 in singles, took a 6-3, 6-0 victory from Florida State’s Nandini Das to pull the Cavaliers within a point of the match victory.

The Seminoles would then win the first of three straight singles matches to claim the match with Andrea Garcia starting the run with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over Camille Favero (Sacramento, Calif.). The win pulled the home team within one point of the Cavaliers in the overall team score.
 
The two remaining matches featured matchups of Florida State seniors against Virginia freshmen on courts three and five respectively. Both matches went to a third set with the seniors pulling out both wins for the home team to give Florida State the come-from-behind win. 

Ana Oparenovic won on court three over No. 90 Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) by a score of 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 to tie the match. Ariana Rahmanparast then rallied on court five for a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia) on court five to lock up the 4-3 win for Florida State.

Virginia will return to action on Saturday (April 13), closing out the regular season at No. 25 Miami. First serve is set for noon.

No. 12 Florida State 4, No. 19 Virginia 3
Singles
1. No. 24 Meghan Kelley def. No. 34 Carla Touly (FSU) – 6-2, 6-1
2. Emmanuelle Salas (FSU) def. Vivian Glozman – 6-4, 6-0
3. Ana Oparenovic (FSU) def. No. 90 Amber O’Dell – 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. No. 116 Chloe Gullickson def. Nandini Das (FSU) – 6-3, 6-0
5. Sofia Munera vs. Ariana Rahmanparast (FSU) – 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3)
6. Andrea Garcia (FSU) def. Camille Favero – 7-6 (7), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 4, 6, 3, 5

Doubles
1. No. 68 Chloe Gullickson/Amber O’Dell def. No. 32 Ana Oparenovic/Emmanuelle Salas (FSU) – 6-4
2. Ariana Rahmanparast/Carla Touly (FSU) def. Vivian Glozman/Sofia Munera – 6-3
3. Hunter Bleser/Meghan Kelley def. Andrea Garcia/Petra Hule (FSU) – 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1