URBANA, Ill. - No. 3 seed Texas A&M defeated No. 14 seed Virginia 5-0 during the round of 16 at the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships on Friday (May 17) at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
Virginia ends the season with a 19-10 record, advancing to its third consecutive NCAA Sweet 16. Texas A&M improves to 24-3 and advances to the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday (May 19).
"It was a great match and it takes two teams to make it a great match," Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeausaid. "I give a lot of credit to Texas A&M. In my opinion, they are a team that can compete and maybe win the national title. I certainly give our kids all the credit in the world. They battled hard."
The Aggies captured the doubles point and received singles victories from Ines Deheza (No. 4), Nazari Urbina (No. 3), Cristina Stancu (No. 2) and Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (No. 1) to earn the win.
Texas A&M captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 1. Ines and Paula Deheza beat UVa junior Li Xi (Kunming, China) and senior Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) 8-3 at No. 3. The Aggies then clinched the point when No. 18 Stancu and Stefania Hristov beat senior co-captain Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) and freshman Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) 9-7 at No. 1. Vierra and Nauta fought hard and played well, saving three match points. No. 49 Wen Sun and Sanchez-Quintanar were leading freshman Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and senior Hana Tomljanovic(Boca Raton, Fla.) 7-4 at No. 2 when the point was clinched.
Ines Deheza made it 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Xi at No. 4 singles and Urbina made it 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Tomljanovic at No. 3.
No. 68 Stancu clinched the win with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over No. 78 Nauta at No. 2 and No. 4 Sanchez-Quintanar added a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 12 Elbaba at No. 1. Vierra and Peretz were battling in the third sets of their respective matches at Nos. 5 and 6.
Vierra, Tomljanovic and Fuccillo finish their careers as the most successful class in UVa women's tennis history. The trio amassed a 74-36 dual record and participated in four NCAA Tournaments, including three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
Elbaba will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship on May 22-27. Nauta and Xi are the third alternates for the doubles championship.
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