The women's tennis team served up an explosive 6-1 victory at the Snyder Center yesterday afternoon, upsetting No. 22 Oregon and extending their winning streak to four matches. The No. 37 Cavaliers improved their record to 11-4 in the fourth match of a six-match homestand.
Virginia kicked off the dual match by sweeping the doubles portion of the event.
"We showed up very eager to play and that was pretty evident in the doubles," Virginia coach Phil Rogers said. "We started off on all three courts, from the very first point, ready to play and win."
The nationally ranked No. 40 duo of seniors Henriette Williams and Jennifer Tuchband took the No. 1 match, 8-2. The No. 38 team of freshmen Lori Stern and Kristen James won 8-1 on the No. 2 court and freshmen Kyle Montgomery and Laura Brunch took the third 8-6.
"I thought we just handled the pressure of playing a higher ranked team," Rogers said. "Oregon fought really hard, but we're no strangers to fighting hard."
The Cavaliers rode the momentum of the doubles' victories into the singles portion of the afternoon, winning all but one match.
Oregon is "a top-25 team, so we knew they were going to be tough," Tuchband said. "But none of us knew anyone, which was good because there was no pressure going out there."
Tuchband, who was named ACC player of the week March 17, pulled ahead in her first set, 7-5, and won the second 6-2 in the No. 2 singles match.
"The girl was just overpowering me," Tuchband said of her opponent, 40th rankedCourtney Nagle. "I just had to step back and think of how I could possibly beat her and that was just spinning the ball in and waiting for her."
James won the No. 4 match in three sets--after dropping the first--2-6, 6-1, 6-0. Sophomore twins Dora and Marta Bechliwanis won on the No. 5 and No. 6 courts respectively, 6-3, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-4.
Stern fell 7-5, 6-2 to the opposing Duck, Monika Gieczys.
"We've been exhibiting real tenacity and poise," Rogers said. "Recently we've started seeing some of our natural talent coming out --physical talent and natural athletic ability."
Williams' marathon match exhibited both the poise and athleticism Rogers points out. After losing the first set 6-7 to her Oregon opponent, 18th ranked Daria Panova, Williams came back strong in the second set, taking it 6-3, and concluded it with 10 quick points to break the tie.
"I felt like the first set was so long, the second set wasn't that long and then the 10-point tiebreaker was over," Williams said. "It didn't give me any time to think about it"
The Williams-Panova match was the last to end, and both teams crowded the sidelines.
"The biggest thing of all was that the team had already won, and was behind me," Williams said. "I didn't feel any pressure."
Senior Jason Rogers agreed with Williams' statement.
"We weren't intimidated by playing a higher ranked opponent," Rogers said. "In fact, we seemed to thrive on it."
The Cavaliers round out their streak of home matches this weekend with ACC match play against Georgia Tech and Clemson.
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