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Irish Drop Close Battle to No. 6 Virginia, Defeat Virginia Tech

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team split its opening Atlantic Coast Conference matches at home this weekend, falling 4-2 to No. 6 Virginia on Friday before roaring back to defeat Virginia Tech 5-2 on Sunday.

Virginia won a tightly contested doubles point on Friday with victories at No. 3 and No. 1 to take a 1-0 lead heading into singles. The Cavaliers scored a second point on the board with a victory at No. 5 singles, before Julia Andreach narrowed the lead with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over #113 Annabelle Xu at No. 2. A close straight set win came for Virginia on court six, before Bojana Pozder defeated #72 Sara Ziodato on court 4 to narrow the score to 2-3. The visitors clinched the match with a three set win at No. 3, while Page Freeman led 3-2 in the final set against her top 20-ranked opponent at No. 1 when the match was abandoned.

The Irish came back strong on Sunday, but ultimately dropped the doubles point as the Hokies took courts two and three. Each team won three first sets, and Virginia Tech’s second and final point came on the board with a straight set victory at No. 6. Freeman and Pozder quickly tied the match up, winning convincingly on courts one and three, respectively. Carrie Beckman secured a third point for the Irish, taking her deciding set 6-1 on court five to put the home team within one point of victory. The clinch would come at the hands of Andreach, who from 1-6, 1-4 down steamrolled 11 games in a row to keep her undefeated senior season alive, winning 1-6, 6-4, 6-0. Nibi Ghosh put the exclamation point on the day, also dominating the final set 6-1 for a final 5-2 team win for the Irish.

Next Up

Notre Dame hits the road to North Carolina, continuing ACC play against NC State on Friday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m. The Irish will then make the short trip from Raleigh to Winston-Salem to battle Wake Forest on Sunday, March 3 at 12:00 p.m.

Box Score – Virginia

Singles

No. 1 – Page Freeman (ND) vs. #20 Hibah Shaikh (UVA) 4-6, 7-5, 3-2, unfinished

No. 2 – Julia Andreach (ND) def. #113 Annabelle Xu (UVA) 6-2, 6-2

No. 3 – Natasha Subhash (UVA) def. Yashna Yellayi (ND) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3

No. 4 – Bojana Pozder (ND) def. #72 Sara Ziodato (VA) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2

No. 5 – #65 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. Nibi Ghosh (ND) 6-2, 6-1

No. 6 – #92 Melodie Collard (VA) def. Akari Matsuno (ND) 7-6 (12-10), 6-4

Doubles

No. 1 – #20 Melodie Collard/Elaine Chervinsky (UVA) def. #32 Julia Andreach/Carrie Beckman (ND) 7-5

No. 2 – Page Freeman/Nibi Ghosh (ND) vs. #17 Natasha Subhash/Hibah Shaikh (VA) 5-6, unfinished

No. 3 – Annabelle Xu/Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Akari Matsuno/Yashna Yellayi (ND) 6-3

Order of finish

Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,2,6,4,3)

Box Score – Virginia Tech

Singles

No. 1 – Page Freeman (ND) def. Katie Andreini (VT) 6-3, 6-1

No. 2 – Julia Andreach (ND) def. Ozlem Uslu (VT) 1-6, 6-4, 6-0

No. 3 – Bojana Pozder (ND) def. Tamara Barad Itzhaki (VT) 6-4, 6-0

No. 4 – Nibi Ghosh (ND) def. Dariya Radulova (VT) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1

No. 5 – Carrie Beckman (ND) def. Laima Frosch (VT) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1

No. 6 – Semra Aksu (VT) def. Akari Matsuno (ND) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles

No. 1 – #32 Julia Andreach/Carrie Beckman (ND) vs. Katie Andreini/Dariya Radulova (VT) 3-4, unfinished

No. 2 – Semra Aksu/Erika Cheng (VT) def. Page Freeman/Nibi Ghosh (ND) 6-3

No. 3 – Charlotte Cartledge/Ozlem Uslu (VT) def. Yashna Yellayi/Bojana Pozder (ND) 6-3

Order of finish

Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,1,3,5,2,4)