For its last match before conference play begins this weekend, the No. 25 Virginia women's tennis team dropped No. 51 William & Mary, 6-1.
The Cavaliers (5-2) started oFf the match on the right foot, taking the doubles point after an 8-1 win by sophomore Emily Fraser and senior Jennifer Stevens at the No. 1 spot, and a 8-2 victory by the pair of sophomore Lindsey Hardenbergh and freshman Erin Vierra, currently ranked No. 53 in the nation.
The Cavaliers then put two quick points on the board in singles play with freshmen Maria Fuccillo and Hana Tomljanovic winning 6-2, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-2, respectively, at the No. 6 and No. 5 spots.\nFor Hardenbergh and Vierra at No. 1 and No. 3, it was clearly a tale of two sets. Both went deep into the first set of their singles matches, ultimately taking their opening sets 7-5 and 7-6(3), respectively.
When it came time for the second set, the attitudes of Hardenbergh and Vierra's opponents changed considerably. The shouts of "Go Tribe!" were replaced by players shouting at themselves for unforced errors, as Vierra took the second set 6-1 and Hardenbergh capped off her victory 6-0.
"William & Mary has a lot of spirit and a lot of fight, so we knew coming into it that they were going to be like that, so it just took a lot of focus on all of our parts to block that out and do what we to do," Vierra said. "It was going to be an emotional match either way, so it was just capitalizing on the momentum after winning that first [set] and carrying it into the second."
Meanwhile, senior Jennifer Stevens battled through a tight first set, but ultimately lost her match 7-6, 6-1 at the No. 4 spot for the Cavaliers' only singles loss of the afternoon.
Although the outcome of the match was already decided, all eyes were on the second court at the end to watch Fraser face off against Marian Mesgarzadeh at the No. 2 spot. After taking the first set 6-3 and leading the second set 5-1, Fraser allowed Mesgarzadeh to reel off five games in a row. Fraser pushed the second set to a tiebreaker, which she lost 11-to-9.
Entering the match tiebreak, however, Fraser rocketed past Mesgarzadeh, cruising to a 10-2 win.
"You're always going to play better if you play smarter," Guilbeau said, "and that's what she allowed to happen."
Friday the Cavaliers travel up to Chestnut Hill to start ACC play against Boston College and then travel back to Charlottesville Sunday for a double-header with Maryland and Old Dominion. The team's previous two victories in addition to their preparation during practice has them relaxed and confident.
"I think the coaches really prepare us well," Hardenbergh said. "I do want to give a lot of credit to them because they've scouted out so we know exactly who we are playing, we know exactly where to hit the ball."
In upcoming practices, Guilbeau said the team will continue to emphasize consistency and intensity during practices, which he said will help improve the team's play as the Cavaliers begin ACC competition this week.
"I'm not going to knock anybody but sometimes we aren't practicing real well," Guilbeau said. "You're not as accountable for misses in practice as you are in a match ...
We've gotta learn to be disciplined in practice, and it really allows us to play looser and freer in the matches ... I think it can lead us to some really good tough wins"
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