The No. 17 Virginia women's tennis team missed two opportunities to down top-five teams this weekend, falling against No. 3 North Carolina Saturday and No. 4 Duke Sunday.
The Cavaliers (14-6. 3-4 ACC) came close to an upset against the talented Tar Heels (17-3, 6-0 ACC), however, as the match was decided during a third-set tiebreaker on the No. 6 court. Sophomore Maria Fuccillo took an early 4-1 lead during the final set against Tessa Lyons but ultimately allowed the freshman to climb back for a 7-5 win. Lyons' victory secured a 4-3 win for North Carolina and dropped Virginia to a .429 record in conference play.
The Cavaliers again made a valiant charge against the Blue Devils (17-2, 6-0 ACC) Sunday but could not keep up with their high-powered foe. After surrendering the doubles point to Virginia, the Duke squad rallied to steal five of the six singles matchups.
No. 54 junior Lindsey Hardenbergh added the Cavaliers' only other point with a victory against No. 45 senior Nadine Fahoum at the No. 1 position. Coach Mark Guilbeau bumped Hardenbergh up to the top spot for the second weekend in a row, and she responded with a straight-set win to seal her sixth consecutive personal triumph.
The Cavaliers will return home to face N.C. State and Wake Forest at the Snyder Tennis Courts next weekend in their final home matches of the regular season.
-compiled by Stacy Kruczkowski
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