Tech drops 5-2 decision at home vs. No. 39 Miami

Tech will conclude its regular season with a match against No. 42 Florida State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

April 21, 2017

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision against No. 39 Miami, Friday afternoon, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The Hokies (11-11, 4-9 ACC) found themselves in a hole early after surrendering the doubles point to the Hurricane (9-10, 7-6 ACC). Junior Elena Cerezo-Codina and freshman Natalie Novotna stumbled against Miami’s Ana Madcur and Estela Perez-Somarriba by a score of 6-1 on court two. Senior Sansitha Nandakumar and freshman Shene Disbergen then closed out the doubles session at the No. 3 slot, as they fell to Miami’s Silvia Fuentes and Sara Culbertson by a score of 6-2.

Tech ultimately claimed two-of-six singles matches over Miami at the No. 6 and No. 4 positions, respectively, putting two points on the board after the fourth-match point was clinched.

Nandakumar picked up her seventh dual-match victory of the season, as she cruised past Miami’s Maci Epstein in straight sets, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, to claim the match on court six.

Junior Caroline Daxhelet was the last to walk off the court, as she picked up her fourth straight victory in ACC play, defeating Fuentes in a hard-fought, three-set tiebreaker on court four. She dropped the first set, but prevailed in the second, giving herself a chance to claim the match with a 10-point tiebreaker decision. Daxhelet ultimately clinched the tiebreaker point, cruising past Fuentes by a score of 10-3 in the final set.

Up next, Tech will conclude its regular season with a match against No. 42 Florida State (14-10, 6-7 ACC) on Sunday, April 23. The match against the Seminoles is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free, and Tech will celebrate its two seniors prior to the match.

The senior duo of Francesca Fusinato and Nandakumar has represented Tech in fine fashion and will exit as two of the most talented and motivated student-athletes of coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Woods' long 14-year tenure.

The senior tandem has been a huge part of Tech’s recent success, helping lead its team to two NCAA tournament berths and an ACC quarterfinal appearance. Most notably, Fusinato and Nandakumar were only sophomores when Tech experienced its best season since joining the ACC in 2005, advancing to the ACC quarterfinals for the first time in program history and claiming an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in 15 years.

Tech and Florida State will meet for the 20th time in the all-time series, as the Seminoles hold a 16-3 edge over the Hokies. Last season, the Hokies defeated the Seminoles by a score of 4-3 on March 20, at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee, Florida.

Most recently, Florida State dropped a 4-3 setback at Virginia on April 21. The Seminoles’ clinched the doubles point early on, but the Cavaliers stormed back and captured four-of-six singles matches to claim the victory.

Of note, Julia Mikulski holds a 11-7 dual-match record this season and is the lone Seminole ranked inside the ITA singles poll at No. 109.

Fans can follow all the action during each match of the 2017 season by following the squad on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Doubles Competition:

No. 1: #61 Caroline Daxhelet/Francesca Fusinato (VT) vs. Sinead Lohan/Dominika Paterova (UM), 5-4

No. 2: Ana Madcur/Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina/Natalie Novotna (VT), 6-1

No. 3: Silvia Fuentes/Sara Culbertson (UM) def. Shene Disbergen/Sansitha Nandakumar (VT), 6-2

Singles Competition:

No. 1: #17 Sinead Lohan (UM) def. #102 Francesca Fusinato (Tech), 6-3, 6-3

No. 2: #38 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM) def. #84 Natalie Novotna (Tech), 6-0, 6-1

No. 3: Dominika Paterova (UM) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina (Tech), 4-6, 6-1, 1-4 retired

No. 4: Caroline Daxhelet (Tech) def. Silvia Fuentes (UM), 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-3

No. 5: Ana Madcur (UM) def. Shene Disbergen (Tech), 6-0, 6-1

No. 6: Sansitha Nandakumar (Tech) def. Maci Epstein (UM), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2

Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,5,1,6,3,4)

For updates on Virginia Tech women's tennis, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WTennis