LYNCHBURG, Va. – William & Mary women's tennis advanced three of its four doubles teams to the round of 16 and four singles players moved on to the round of 32 on the first day of the ITA Atlantic Region qualifying.
Senior
Lisa Fukutoku, sophomore
Kensie Cricchio and freshmen
Hedda Gurholt and
Ine Stange picked up wins in the round of 64 on Friday. In doubles, freshman
Emma Fernald and junior
Alisia Manolescu, the duo of Fukutoku and Cricchio and the pair of Gurholt and Stange all picked up wins to advance to the round of 16.
All three victorious Tribe doubles teams were playing together for the first time at the collegiate level. Fukutoku and Cricchio topped the Virginia Tech team of Husted and Radulova, 6-2, in the round of 32. The duo faces the No. 4-seeded Liberty pair of Para Romero and Ode Mitra in the round of 16 at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Fernald and Manolescu notched a round of 32 win over VCU's Karlova and Draskovic in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5). They face the No. 6 seeded Virginia Tech team of Barad Itzaki and Aksu at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Gurholt and Stange dropped just two games in a 6-2 win over the Radford team of Loudili and Ifidzhen in the round of 32. On Saturday, the Tribe tandem faces the No. 3-seeded JMU duo of Moulin and Afanasyeva at 8:30 a.m. The doubles quarterfinals are set for Sunday.
In singles, both Fukutoku and Gurholt improved to 3-1 with straight-sets wins. Fukutoku dropped just three total games in a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Gabrielle Clairotte of Marshall. She faces No. 8-seeded Maria Juliana Para Romero of Liberty at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Gurholt upended Richmond's Sara Salemyr, 7-6 (3), 6-2, in Friday's round of 64. She meets VCU's Shivani Manjanna at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Cricchio evened her season ledger at 2-2 with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over Longwood's Maria Saez, while Stange notched her first win as a member of the Tribe, taking out Richmond's Marta Buendia, 6-1, 6-2. Both players meet seeded opponents in the round of 32 with Cricchio meeting No. 6 seed Elizabet Danailova of Virginia Tech and Stange facing VCU's Yelizaveta Karlova, who is the No. 13 seed. Both matches carry a 10:45 a.m. start time.
Junior
Alisia Manolescu won her fourth-straight match to open the 2021 fall season, defeating Longwood's Emma Nurgazieva, 6-3, 6-2, in the opening round on Friday. Her win streak came to an end in the second round as she suffered a loss to No. 5 seed Daniela Voloh of JMU.
After dropping her first main draw match, junior
Raffaela Alhach recorded her third win of the year in the consolation singles draw. She topped Virginia Tech's Sabina Richtrova, 6-1, 6-3.
The ITA Atlantic Region qualifying continues on Saturday with the doubles round of 16 and the singles round of 32. The doubles semifinalists and singles quarterfinals earn a spot in the super regional, which is set for Oct. 22-25 in Charlottesville.
W&M Results from the ITA Region Qualifying
Singles Round of 128
Alisia Manolescu (W&M) def. Emma Nurgazieva (Longwood) – 6-3, 6-2
Singles Round of 64
Rita Pinto (Virginia Tech) def.
Raffaela Alhach (W&M) – 6-3, 6-3
#7 Kylie Moulin (JMU) def.
Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-4, 6-4
#10 Camilla Bossi (WVU) def.
Emma Fernald (W&M) – 7-6 (5), 6-3
Lisa Fukutoku (W&M) def. Gabrielle Clairotte (Marshall) – 6-0, 6-3
#5 Daniela Voloh (JMU) def.
Alisia Manolescu (W&M) – 6-4, 6-1
Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Sara Salemyr (Richmond) – 7-6 (3), 6-2
Kensie Cricchio (W&M) def. Maria Saez (Longwood) – 7-5, 6-2
Ine Stange (W&M) def. Marta Buendia (Richmond) – 6-1, 6-2
Consolation Singles
Raffaela Alhach (W&M) def. Sabina Richtrova (Virginia Tech) – 6-1, 6-3
Andrea Campodonico (Richmond) def.
Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
Emma Vanderheyden (Marshall) def.
Emma Fernald (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Round of 32
Fernald/Manolescu (W&M) def. Karlova/Draskovic (VCU) – 7-6 (5)
Fukutoku/Cricchio (W&M) def. Husted/Radulova (Virginia Tech) – 6-2
Gurholt/Stange (W&M) def. Loudili/Ifidzhen (Radford) – 6-2
Danailova/Richtrova (Virginia Tech) def. Alhach/van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-3
