Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech put together a brilliant effort in its first match of the season, coming away with a 6-1 win at home on Saturday against ETSU.
Grit was the name of the game inside Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center on Saturday morning, as Tech often found itself in intense battles on the way to victory.
Two freshmen – Dariya Radulova and Semra Aksu – made names for themselves early on, as they downed the No. 44 duo of Fernanda Carvajal and Yunuen Elizarraras, 6-3. This set the Hokies up for a chance at the doubles point with Rita Pinto and Erika Cheng on Court 2.
In a tight match that went to a tiebreaker, Cheng and Pinto clinched the point with a 7-6 (7-4) win.
Aksu carried the momentum from her big win in doubles into singles and make quick work of familiar foe Elizarraras, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 win on Court 6. Katie Andreini got in on the winning action, as well, picking up her first win of the year on Court 5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
Nobody had a more exciting day than Cheng, however, who came up with her second clinching point of the day with her win on Court 4. In both sets, she trailed 4-5 at one point, but battled back for a second-set tiebreaker win, 7-6 (12-10) to give the Hokies a 1-0 start to the season.
The icing on top came from Tamara Barad Itzhaki and Radulova, who both went the distance in three-set matches and came out victorious. Barad Itzhaki overcame dropping her first set and a nagging injury to get an impressive win on Court 1, while Radulova added a singles win to her tally on Court 3.
The Hokies will take the court next on Friday, Feb. 4 against Xavier in Cincinatti, Ohio.