Mississippi State
Virginia Tech
No. 21 MSU Women?s Tennis Blanks No. 34 Virginia Tech 4-0 In NCAA 1st Round
May 13, 2016 | Women's Tennis
MSU is now 5-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Championship in its six appearances all-time. It has won seven of its last nine contests this season, both losses to No. 5 Vanderbilt.
The Bulldogs will face the winner between 16th-ranked host Texas Tech and Boston University (who were scheduled to play Friday evening) on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to the NCAA round of 16 in Tulsa, Okla., May 19. State will be looking for its first-ever round of 16 appearance.
Friday's match started with a tight battle for the doubles point. Tech's Caroline Daxhelet and Raluca Mita made quick work of State's Jasmine Lee and Louise Ronaldson 6-2 on court 2. Following at the No. 3 position Bulldogs Georgiana Patrasc and Anastasia Rentouli overcame Hokies Elena Cerezo-Codina and Sansitha Nandakumar 6-2. It all came down to court 1 where State's 30th-ranked Madison Harrison and Kristina Vozniak battled VT's Francesca Fusinato and Kelly Williford. With MSU down 4-5 and Harrison serving at deciding point, the Bulldog sophomore delivered a huge ace to keep the Bulldogs in the match. The MSU duo then produced the only break of serve in the contest and Vozniak served out the match 7-5 to clinch the doubles point for a 1-0 MSU lead.
The Bulldogs maintained the momentum heading into singles, taking five of the first six sets. The 115th-ranked Harrison was the first one off the courts as she posted her sixth victory in a row, a solid 6-4, 6-2 victory over Tech's Williford on court 3. MSU's 101st-ranked Rentouli quickly followed at the No. 4 position, downing VT's Mita 6-3, 6-2 for her third straight triumph to give State a 3-0 lead.
Virginia Tech tried to fight back but the Bulldogs would have none of it. Clinching her team-leading sixth match of the season with her fifth win in a row (20th against a ranked foe this year), State's 13th-ranked Lee fought off Tech's 60th-ranked Fusinato 6-3, 7-5 at the top spot in the lineup to make the final score 4-0.
The remaining matches were suspended with the Bulldogs holding leads on all three courts. On court 2, MSU's 36th-ranked Patrasc was up on VT's Daxhelet 6-4, 4-3. State's Vozniak led Tech's Katherine Butler 7-6(3), 3-5 at the No. 5 position. And Bulldog Jennifer Brown had fought her way back from a tough first set to lead 0-6, 6-4, 2-1 against Hokie Nandakumar.
“Once again our girls put forth a great effort to earn a hard fought victory,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. "Madison and Kristina came up big saving a match point in doubles. We slowly took control in the singles, but had to fight hard to close it out. It has been almost three weeks since our last match so we were dealing with some nerves. I though we did a great job digging in for the win over a very solid Virginia Tech team. I think we will have to play a litter better tomorrow to win the regional."
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.No. 21 Mississippi State 4, No. 34 Virginia Tech 0
2016 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship – First Round
May 13, 2016 – McLeod Tennis Center - Lubbock, Texas
Doubles
Order of match finish…2,3,1
1. No. 30 Madison Harrison/Kristina Vozniak (MSU) def. Francesca Fusinato/Kelly Williford (VT) 7-5
2. Caroline Daxhelet/Raluca Mita (VT) def. Jasmine Lee/Louise Ronaldson (MSU) 6-2
3. Georgiana Patrasc/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina/Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…3,4,1
1. No. 13 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 60 Francesca Fusinato (VT) 6-3, 7-5
2. No. 36 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) vs. Caroline Daxhelet (VT) 6-4, 4-3 (susp.)
3. No. 115 Madison Harrison (MSU) def. Kelly Williford (VT) 6-4, 6-2
4. No. 101 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Raluco Mita (VT) 6-3, 6-2
5. Kristina Vozniak (MSU) vs. Katherine Butler (VT) 7-6 (3), 3-5 (susp.)
6. Jennifer Brown (MSU) vs. Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) 0-6, 6-4, 2-1 (susp.)
