BLACKSBURG, Va. (Jan. 27, 2019) – After falling behind 3-1 in the match, the ETSU women’s tennis team won three straight singles matches to upset the Hokies on Sunday morning, 4-3,

The Bucs improve to 1-1 overall, while also handing the Hokies their first loss of the season.

Virginia Tech had the first win of the match after Nika Kozar and Nina Sorking had a 6-2 win over ETSU’s Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and Alejandra Morales (Santiago, Chile). Virginia Tech would soon clinch the doubles point with their second win after they defeated Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (Basauri, Spain) and Esther Guemes (Madrid, Spain) at the No. 3 doubles spot.

Raquel Amaro (Caracas, Venezeula) evened the match after she earned a 6-1, 6-2 win over Rita Pinto. The Hokies went ahead again with a 6-3, 6-2 win when Shene Disbergen defeated Esther Guemes. Virginia Tech’s Nina Sorkin would give the Hokies a 3-1 advantage after defeating Yi Chi Ma (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) 6-3, 6-1.

At the No. 1 singles spot, Bakhodirova handed Natalie Novotina a loss after she won 6-3, 6-3. Pascual-Larrinaga grinded out a 6-4, 6-4 win at the No. 3 singles spot to once again tie the match 3-3. Sophomore Morales came up big for the Bucs defeating Nika Kozar 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot, to clinch the overall match for ETSU.

“I’m very proud of our girls,” said head coach Ricky Rojas. “It’s a testament to the hard work they put in and I’m excited to lead this great group of ladies.”

The ETSU women’s tennis team returns to action next Friday, Feb. 1. They will take on Belmont at 7:00 p.m.

ETSU women's tennis 4, Virginia Tech 3

Singles competition

1. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSUW) def. Natalie Novotina (TECH) 6-3, 6-3
2. Alejandra Morales (ETSUW) def. Nika Kozar (TECH) 6-3, 6-4
3. A. Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSUW) def. Samantha Gillas (TECH) 6-4, 6-4
4. Raquel Amaro (ETSUW) def. Rita Pinto (TECH) 6-1, 6-2
5. Nina Sorkin (TECH) def. Yi Chi Ma (ETSUW) 6-3, 6-1
6. Shene Disbergen (TECH) def. Esther Guemes (ETSUW) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. Nina Sorkin/Nika Kozar (TECH) def. Laylo Bakhodirova/Alejandra Morales (ETSUW) 6-2
2. Samantha Gillas/Rita Pinto (TECH) vs. Raquel Amaro/Yi Chi Ma (ETSUW) 5-5, unfinished
3. Annie Clark/Emily Pence (TECH) def. Esther Guemes/A. Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSUW) 6-2

Match Notes:

ETSU women's tennis 1-1

Virginia Tech 0-1

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,6,5,1,3,2)

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For more information on Buccaneer women’s tennis visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.