RICHMOND, Va. – For the third time this season, senior
Mila Saric notched a nationally-ranked singles win on Sunday afternoon at VCU. Unfortunately, the Tribe dropped a close 4-3 match-up with the reigning Atlantic 10 Champion and No. 63-ranked Rams.
In a battle of nationally-ranked players at the top singles position, Saric won in come-from-behind fashion over No. 80-ranked Paolo Exposito Diaz-Delgado. After dropping the opening set, 6-2, the Tribe senior bounced back with a 7-5 win in the second. In the decisive third set, Saric, who is ranked No. 114 nationally, recorded her third nationally-ranked win of the spring, winning the final three games for a 6-3 triumph. She moved to 20-5 on the year.
The bottom of the Tribe (6-8) singles lineup was once again strong on Sunday as freshmen
Emma Fernald (No. 5) and
Ine Stange (No. 6) both picked up wins. Fernald won her fifth in a row, topping Laura Garcia Astudillo, 7-5, 6-2. She upped her season mark to 15-8 with the victory.
On line six, Stange claimed a straight-set 7-5, 7-5 win over Shivani Manjanna. It marked her second-straight victory and 10th overall on the year.
The Rams opened the match taking a close doubles point thanks to a 7-5 win at No. 3. VCU (13-4) received singles wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 to pull out the team victory.
Up Next: The Tribe hits the road for a CAA doubleheader at Towson on Saturday, April 9. W&M takes on Delaware at noon before squaring off with the Tigers at 3 p.m.
#63 VCU 4, William & Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 - #114
Mila Saric (W&M) def. #80 Paolo Exposito Diaz-Delgado (VCU) – 2-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 – Yelizaveta Karlova (VCU) def.
Hedda Gurholt (W&M) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 – Nina Sorkin (VCU) def.
Raffaela Alhach (W&M) – 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 4 – Gabriela Davidescu (VCU) def.
Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 –
Emma Fernald (W&M) def. Laura Garcia Astudillo (VCU) – 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 –
Ine Stange (W&M) def. Shivani Manjanna (VCU) – 7-5, 7-5
Finishing Order: 2, 5, 4, 6, 3*, 1
Doubles
No. 1 – Davidescu/Manjanna (VCU) def. Saric/Gurholt (W&M) – 6-2
No. 2 – Alhach/Van Meeteren (W&M) vs. Delgado/Astudillo (VCU) – DNF, 6-5
No. 3 – Sorkin/Karlova (VCU) def. Fernald/Stange (W&M) – 7-5
Finishing Order: 1, 3*
