North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Virginia
Pack Battles Virginia to the Wire
5/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 15, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - 25th-ranked NC State fell, 4-2, at the hands of 11th-ranked Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday at the Boar’s Head Club.
The Pack looked for its first-ever Sweet 16 berth with a win, but instead settle for equaling the program’s farthest run in the tournament.
Play opened at Virginia’s outdoor facility, but was suspended within an hour due to inclement weather. Both teams packed up and moved the competition indoors to Boar’s Head Club, where the match resumed at 3:30 p.m.
Virginia commanded the doubles point by taking the first two matches, as 32nd-ranked Hardenbergh/Vierra topped 17th-ranked Bhambri/Nagaraj 8-4, and 20th-ranked Fraser/Tomljanovic dropped Illova/Hojckova 8-2.
The situation looked bleak for the Pack early on in singles play, as five of the six matches opened in Virginia’s favor. The Wolfpack spotted daylight an hour in, when freshman Joelle Kissell became the first to take a set away from the Cavaliers by battling back from a 3-0 deficit to outlast 118th-ranked Hana Tomljanovic 6-4 in the first.
At the same time, Tatiana Illova was busy responding from a one-sided first set to battle to a 4-1 lead over 101st-ranked Erin Vierra in the second. 28th-ranked Sanaa Bhambri clawed her way back in the first set against 27th-ranked Lindsey Hardenbergh, tying the first set at 5-5 on back-to-back games. 85th-ranked Sandhya Nagaraj watched a 4-2 lead dissipate to a 5-5 tie in the first, while Lenka Hojckova, playing in possibly her last match with the Pack, had a 5-5 battle on her hands against Caryssa Peretz.
Within the next half-hour, the match reached a critical juncture, as matches on courts one, two, and five were locked in, or near first-set tiebreakers. Hojckova claimed her set for the Pack, capturing a 7-1 tiebreak win. Nagaraj fell 7-2 in the second spot. Bhambri held a 40-30 lead while trailing 6-5, but could not force the third tiebreaker of the hour. With at least one set down in all six matches, Virginia led in three, NC State in two, and Illova’s match headed to a deciding third-set after her 6-3 win in the second.
Kissell rang the bell initially for the Pack, securing her 6-4, 6-2 win over Tomljanovic to even the overall score at 1-1. Christy Sipes fell shortly thereafter, 6-3, 6-3 to Fuccillo, granting the Cavaliers a 2-1 edge.
Needing three of the next four decisions to fall its way, the Pack’s window to the Sweet 16 started to shutter. Hojckova lurked just two games shy of clinching her match, and Illova climbed ahead 2-1 in her third set, but Nagaraj and Bhambri slipped into early holes, down 4-1 and 3-1, respectively.
The Pack’s hopes for a Nagaraj comeback evaporated first, as Fraser took the next two games to seal a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 win. Eventually, Hardenbergh dealt the clinching blow for Virginia, topping Bhambri 7-5, 6-2 to advance the Cavaliers.
In her final outing as a member of the Wolfpack, Hojckova clinched a 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0) victory as the match point of Bhambri/Hardenbergh was in play. Illova’s match was abandoned at 1-6, 6-3, 3-3.
Nagaraj and Bhambri turn their attention to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, beginning May 25 in Palo Alto, Calif.
RESULTS
#11 Virginia 4, #25 NC State 2
Doubles
1. #32 Hardenbergh/Vierra def. #17 Bhambri/Nagaraj 8-4
2. #20 Fraser/Tomljanovic def. Illova/Hojckova 8-2
3. Peretz/Fuccillo led Kissell/Miller 7-6, abd.
Singles
1. #27 Lindsey Hardenbergh def. #28 Sanaa Bhambri 7-5, 6-2
2. #60 Emily Fraser def. #85 Sandhya Nagaraj, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
3. Tatiana Illova led #101 Erin Vierra 3-6, 6-1, 3-3, abd.
4. Joelle Kissell def. #118 Hana Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-2
5. Lenka Hojckova def. Caryssa Peretz 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0)
6. Maria Fuccillo def. Christy Sipes 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 1; 4, 6, 2, 5, 1
