Maryland tennis closes homestand with 4-3 loss to VCU

The Maryland women’s tennis team lost a heartbreaking match to VCU, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon in College Park, snapping a two-game winning streak.

The Terps (3-4, 0-0) looked as if they were going to complete a three-game sweep of their homestand as they led 3-1, needing one more point with three matches left to be completed against the Rams, but it was not to be, as the team dropped all three remaining matches and lost 4-3.

The afternoon started strong for Maryland, as it won two of three doubles matches, securing the doubles point. The duo of freshman Eva Alexandrova and junior Millie Stretton secured the victory in a thrilling match by a score of 7-5, extending their winning streak as a pair to three games.

With the doubles point secured, senior Ekaterina Tour dominated her match, winning 6-1, 6-2, to put the Terps up 2-0. After a loss by sophomore Katsiaryna Yemelyanenka, freshman Zoe Kulkarni won her third singles match in a row, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, putting Maryland in control of the match.

After Kulkarni’s match victory, disaster struck for the Terps as they blew their 3-1 lead. Newly ITA-ranked Alexandrova lost her match 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), as did Stretton, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, just minutes later.

With the overall match tied 3-3, it all came down to freshman Anastasiia Gevel. While she played Noumea Witmus incredibly tough, Gevel suffered a crushing tiebreak loss in the second set, securing a match victory for the Rams of VCU.

The tough loss comes one weekend after the Terps easily got past both Long Beach State, 5-2, and George Washington, 6-1. Alexandrova and Stretton, who both won both of their singles matches last weekend, didn’t find the same success Saturday.

The loss drops the Terps to 3-4 on the season. Maryland won its first match of the season against Harvard in January, then lost three straight away from College Park. The Terps returned home to sweep last weekend’s back-to-back before coming up short in this match.

Maryland will hit the road next weekend, as they play in Princeton on Friday and in New York versus Columbia on Saturday.