The eighth-seeded Richmond Spiders stunned top-seeded VCU, 4-3, in the Atlantic 10 Women's Tennis quarterfinals on Thursday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The Rams got on the board first with a pair of doubles victories on courts two and three. Tiziana Rossini and Emma Rizzetto were a perfect 6-0 at second doubles, followed by Anja Draskovic and Mariam Ibrahim, who closed out the point on court three, 6-3. Emma Valletta and Draskovic each took straight-set victories, 6-1, 6-1, on courts three and two, respectively, to give VCU a 3-0 match lead. Richmond earned first-set victories on courts No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 to set up the potential comeback. Lara Bakhaya was the first point for the Spiders, winning 6-0, 6-4, followed by Andrea Campodonico, who earned a 7-5, 7-5 victory on court one. Elizabeth Novak, playing at No. 5 singles, battled back after a second-set loss to knot the team score at 3-3, setting up the final match on court 6. After dropping the first set, 6-2, UR's Polina Shitikova battled to a tiebreak victory in the second set. The Spider senior pulled away in the third set, propelling the Spiders to its first A-10 Championship match victory against VCU and into the semifinals. Richmond will take on No. 4 Fordham on Friday at 5:30 pm.
MATCH #6
#8 RICHMOND def. #1 VCU, 4-3
SINGLES
1. Andrea Campodonico (UR) def. Yelizaveta Karlova (VCU) 7-5, 7-5
2. Anja Draskovic (VCU) def. Carly Cohen (UR) 6-1, 6-1
3. Emma Valletta (VCU) def. Leonor Oliveira (UR) 6-1, 6-1
4. Lara Bakhaya (UR) def. Tiziana Rossini (VCU) 6-0, 6-4
5. Elizabeth Novak (UR) def. Emma Rizzetto (VCU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
6. Polina Shitikova (UR) def. Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4, 1, 5, 6
DOUBLES
1. Yelizaveta Karlova/Emma Valletta (VCU) vs. Claire Le Du/Andrea Campodonico (UR) 5-4, DNF
2. Tiziana Rossini/Emma Rizzetto (VCU) def. Polina Shitikova/Lara Bakhaya (UR) 6-0
3. Anja Draskovic/Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) def. Lainey OíNeil/Elizabeth Novak (UR) 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3
The fourth-seeded Fordham Rams earned a 4-0 decision against No. 5 Davidson in the A-10 Women's Tennis quarterfinals on Thursday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Davidson struck first in doubles action, taking the top flight behind Daniela Porges and Kavya Patel's 6-3 victory. The Rams answered with a pair of wins on courts two and three to clinch the opening point. Xiaowei 'Rose' Hu and Eleni Fasoula earned a 6-3 decision, while Frances Shea and Julianne Nguyen won 6-2 at third doubles. In singles action, Fasoula gave the Rams an early 2-0 match lead with her win at No. 4 doubles, 6-2, 6-4. After winning first sets on courts one, two, three, and six, the Wildcats battled back to split sets on all but court six. Shea netted the Rams' third match point, outlasting Charlotte Calderwood in a second-set tiebreak. With the remaining courts battling back and forth, Anlin Xie pulled away for a three-set victory at No. 3 singles to clinch the 4-0 victory. With the win, Fordham heads back to the semifinals, and will take on No. 8 Richond on Friday at 5:30 pm.
MATCH #7
#4 FORDHAM def. #5 DAVIDSON, 4-0
SINGLES
1. Raffaela Alhach (FOR) vs. Daniela Porges (DAV) 6-3, 2-6, 4-5, DNF
2. Xiaowei 'Rose' Hu (FOR) vs. Kavya Patel (DAV) 6-2, 4-6, 4-4, DNF
3. Anlin Xie (FOR) def. Emma Heiderscheit (DAV) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
4. Eleni Fasoula (FOR) def. Savanna Kollock (DAV) 6-2, 6-4
5. Bryson Langford (DAV) vs. Xintong 'Cindy' Zhou (FOR) 6-2, 6-7(4)
6. Frances Shea (FOR) def. Charlotte Calderwood (DAV) 6-2, 7-6(3)
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 3
DOUBLES
1. Daniela Porges/Kavya Patel (DAV) def. Raffaela Alhach/Anlin Xie (FOR) 6-3
2. Xiaowei 'Rose' Hu/Eleni Fasoula (FOR) def. Emma Heiderscheit/Savanna Kollock (DAV) 6-3
3. Frances Shea/Julianne Nguyen (FOR) def. Olivia Hooper/Ines Roti (DAV) 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3