Rain canceled the Virginia men’s tennis match with Furman yesterday, but it didn’t stop the women’s team from opening its ACC season and putting up a gritty fight with conference rival Georgia Tech.
In a close, fierce contest, however, the Cavaliers lost to the Yellow Jackets, 5-2, snapping Virginia’s three-match winning streak. Georgia Tech (9-7, 2-1 ACC) took a 1-0 lead going into singles play after winning two of the three doubles matches for the doubles point. The Yellow Jackets then went on to win four of the six singles matches to shut the door on the Cavaliers (12-5, 1-1).
“They just out-competed, outplayed, and frustrated us,” Virginia assistant coach Justin Drzal said. “They are a very tough team and refused to die. We didn’t respond to their toughness. They were more prepared for the battle than we were, and they won the war.”
The Cavaliers received gutsy performances from the top three of their lineup – junior Amy O’Donnell, sophomore Henriette Williams and senior Christie Schweer – whose matches all came down to deciding sets. While O’Donnell lost steam towards the end of her match and fell to Georgia Tech’s sophomore Debbie Reynolds (6-4, 2-6, 3-6), both Williams and Schweer notched impressive come-from-behind victories.
Schweer started off slowly, as she dropped her first set, 4-6, and went down, 2-3, in the second. But she turned up the intensity and stormed back to dominate Yellow Jacket senior Bobbie Guthrie, stealing the match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Schweer “just pulled it all together,” Drzal said. “She used her experience and maturity and took care of her match, regardless of the situation.”
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Williams’ match, however, was the thriller of the afternoon. Long rallies and hotly contested points characterized a endless contest that lasted nearly three hours and ended in a total of 36 games. Williams and Georgia Tech sophomore Jaime Wong consistently battled back and forth. Wong took the first set, 7-5, before Williams grabbed the next two by the same score.
“The match showed just how tough of a competitor Henriette is,” Drzal said. “It was intense. She defeated one of the toughest competitors in the country. She was the epitome of never say die.”
Schweer and Williams were the only Cavaliers to smell victory in the entire match. Both paired up for the top doubles team that defeated the Yellow Jackets’ Guthrie and freshman Kristen Roberson, 8-2.
Yesterday’s match was the second consecutive conference match this past weekend for Virginia. The Cavaliers also played Clemson on Saturday when they completely slaughtered the struggling Tigers, 7-0, for their first shutout of the season. The Cavaliers won all six of their singles matches and the necessary two of three doubles matches.
“We were smooth and clean against Clemson,” Drzal said. “We were the aggressors. It was a very good, confident start to the ACC season for us.”
Photo by Cavalier Daily Staff Photographer, Cavalier Daily Photo Staff
Senior Christie Schweer was one of two Cavaliers to win both her doubles and singles matches in Virginia's loss to Georgia Tech yesterday.