ATLANTA, Ga. The No. 20 Virginia women’s tennis team suffered its first ACC loss of the season, falling to No. 6 Georgia Tech 5-2. The Cavaliers fall to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the ACC as they had their six-match winning streak snapped.

In doubles play, the Cavaliers swept all three matches for the first point of the match. At No. 3 doubles, Maggie Yahner (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Claire Bartlett (Chattanooga, Tenn.) topped Sasha Krupina and Irina Falconi 8-4. No. 48 Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) and Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) upset No. 20 Noelle Hickey and Christy Striplin 8-5 at No. 1 doubles to clinch the point. No. 64 Neela Vaez (Perrysburg, Ohio) and Amanda Rales (Bethesda, Md.) completed the sweep as they remained undefeated on the season with an 8-5 victory over Amanda McDowell and Lynn Blau at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, the Yellow Jackets tied the score as Falconi defeated Fraser at the No. 1 position. Georgia Tech took the lead, 2-1, when McDowell downed Stevens at No. 2 singles. Hickey’s victory over Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) at No. 3 singles gave the Yellow Jackets a 3-1 lead. Georgia Tech clinched the dual match win as Krupina defeated Bartlett 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 singles. Rales recorded a singles win for Virginia at No. 4 singles, where she upset No. 46 ranked Striplin in three sets. Georgia Tech ended the match with a win as Viet Ha Ngo edged Vaez in a third-set tiebreaker.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Georgia Tech,” said Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeau. “They have played a lot of tennis recently, playing a lot of top teams, and they came out and outmatched us physically. It was a positive for us to win the doubles and we simply need to learn to play singles with the same energy, mental strength and intensity as we have in doubles. We need to have a purpose in our shot making an strategy. The overall level of this match was not great and it was a day when we should have taken advantage of it. We will learn from it, move forward and hopefully be more effective in the future, beginning tomorrow.”

Virginia will conclude its road trip on Sunday as they visit No. 13 Clemson.

No. 6 Georgia Tech 5, No. 20 Virginia 2

Doubles
1. #48 Stevens/Fraser (UVa) def. #20 Hickey/Striplin (GT) 8-5
2. #64 Vaez/Rales (UVa) def. McDowell/Blau (GT) 8-5
3. Bartlett/Yahner (UVa) def. Krupina/Falconi (GT) 8-4

Singles
1. #7 Irina Falconi (GT) def. #81 Emily Fraser (UVa) 6-0, 6-1
2. #18 Amanda McDowell (GT) def. #78 Jennifer Stevens (UVa) 6-4, 6-2
3. #43 Noelle Hickey (GT) def. Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) 6-2, 6-4
4. Amanda Rales (UVa) def. #46 Christy Striplin (GT) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
5. Sasha Krupina (GT) def. Claire Bartlett (UVa) 6-2, 6-4
6. Viet Ha Ngo (GT) def. Neela Vaez (UVa) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,1,2
Singles: 1,2,3,5,4,6