Sports > January 31, 2008

By Susie Manship | Staff writer

Although starting the match against No. 15 William and Mary with four first set singles wins, the No. 21 ranked women’s tennis team fell in their first match of the season, 4-2.

With their win over the Demon Deacons, the Tribe advanced their record to 2-1.

Junior Sierra Poske and sophomore Sasha Kulikova, the No. 2 doubles team, brought home the lone Demon Deacon doubles win. They defeated No.2 pair Klaudyna Kasztelaniec and Ragini Acharya of William and Mary, 8-6.

The No. 1 doubles pair of senior Alexandra Hirsch and freshman Emilee Malvehy lost 8-2 to the No. 1 doubles pair of Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic, who are ranked 46th in the nation.

After defeating the number two doubles team, Kulikova tied the match 1-1 with a decisive victory over No. 2 singles standout Zoricic, who is ranked 83rd in the nation.

No. 5 singles Malvehy defeated Magdalena Bresson in three straight 6-3 victories.

Poske and freshman Katarina Reveche won their first set of the day in singles play, but lost the overall matches in the second and third rounds.

Junior Christian Tara narrowly lost her second set to No. 55 ranked Acharya, giving the Tribe the overall advantage to nudge the Demon Deacons out of a season opening win.

Reveche attacked her final match at No. 6 singles with a fervor, edging out opponent Lauren Sabacinski 2-1, but the match was called short and abandoned before a winner was determined.

The Deacons look to rebound with a win on Feb. 2 in Winston-Salem against Penn State, at noon. They take on the University of Tennessee Feb. 3, also at home, at 2 p.m.