Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's tennis team forced three matches into third sets, but No. 20 Virginia held off the Hokies for a 6-1 win on Saturday afternoon at Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
Virginia Tech (12-7, 3-7 ACC) fell behind after doubles, but freshmen Nika Kozar and Nina Sorkin paired up to win their match on court three, defeating Hunter Bleser and Teodora Radosavljevic 6-2.
In singles, the 'Hoos tied it up with a win at one and moved to a 3-0 lead as Radosavljevic claimed it at five.
Katherine Butler got the Hokies on the board with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Bleser on court six.
The Hokies and Cavaliers battled on the other three courts with tiebreaks and third sets across the board. On court four, Kozar dropped the first set 2-6 to Chloe Gullickson, but rallied to win the second 6-3. The 'Hoos player responded to secure it in the third 6-1, giving UVA a 4-1 advantage.
Elena Cerezo-Codina won the opening set in a tiebreak as she held off Cassie Mercer 7-6(5) before Mercer answered to win the second 7-5. Cerezo-Codina held the advantage 3-1 in the third but retired with injury.
The final match on pitted Tech's Caroline Daxhelet against UVA's Meghan Kelley. Daxhelet won the opening set 6-0, but Kelley held on in the second to take the tiebreak 7-6(5). The final set was again close with the two tied at 5-5 before Kelley won two straight to take it 7-5.
With the win, Virginia gains a point in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529. Currently the clash is 7.5-5.5 in favor of the Hokies. There is an additional point on the line this weekend as the two baseball teams split the series on Friday and will play a deciding game on Sunday.
The Hokies will return to the court next weekend with a trip to the Sunshine State where they will face Florida State on Friday, April 13 at 2 p.m. Tech will travel to Miami for an 11 a.m. match on Sunday, April 15.
Singles
1. #47 Rosie Johanson (UVA) def. #61 Natalie Novotna (VT) 6-1, 6-3
2. Meghan Kelley (UVA) def. Caroline Daxhelet (VT) 0-6, 7-6(5), 7-5
3. Cassie Mercer (UVA) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina (VT) 6-7(5), 7-5, 1-3 ret.
4. Chloe Gullickson (UVA) def. Nika Kozar (VT) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
5. Teodora Radosavljevic (UVA) def. Nina Sorkin (VT) 6-3, 6-2
6. Katherine Butler (VT) def. Hunter Bleser (UVA) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 1,5,6,4,3,2
Doubles
1. #16 Johanson/Kelley (UVA) def. Butler/Novotna (VT) 6-0
2. Gullickson/Mercer (UVA) def. Cerezo-Codina/Daxhelet (VT) 6-3
3. Kozar/Sorkin (VT) def. Bleser/Radosavljevic (UVA) 6-2
Order of finish: 1,3,2