Charlottesville, VA -- After winning the program's sixth NEC title, Fairleigh Dickinson fell to No. 14 Virginia in first round NCAA Tournament play on Friday in Charlottesville, VA.

One matchup went unfinished in doubles as higher seeded Virginia took the first point of the afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Fairleigh Dickinson women's tennis team would combat some of the dominance displayed by their nationally ranked opponent at the first slot to the credit of Gisela Castany (Barcelona, Spain) and Shreya Pasricha (New Delhi, India/Amity International School). Unfortunately #2 flight doubles would conclude first in favor of the Cavaliers. Castany and Pasricha would see their battle end knotted at 3-3 and as a team down 1-0 to UVA.  
 
Entering independent play, the matchup between the Cavaliers' Taylor Wingo and the Knights' Sabrina Helm (Paramus, NJ/Paramus) would wrap up first and add to the Cavaliers win column. Katarina Pavlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Srednja Skola Dositej) struggled to negate some of the control Erica Susi displayed at the fifth showing. Pavlovic would fall 6-0, 6-0 and put the Knights behind three.
 
With one point shy of seeing the season coming to an end, Pasricha outplayed her opponent at #4, winning the first set, 6-2. Virginia's Meghan Kelley and Pasricha would perform neck and neck in the second set but an early finish at #2 flight singles would end their matchup 3-2 in favor of the host. It marked the first set win in NCAA competition for a female player in NEC history.

Freshman Liza Rachenko (Kharkiv, Ukraine/Private Boiko School) went up against a nationally ranked opponent. Unfortunately Rachenko and Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park) were unable to finish competition.
 
RESULTS

Singles
No. 2 Danielle Collins vs. Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park), 6-1, 3-2 (suspended)
No. 12 Julia Elbaba def. Gisela Castany (Barcelona, Spain), 6-0, 6-1
No. 97 Stephanie Nauta vs. Liza Rachenko (Kharkiv, Ukraine/Private Boiko School), 6-2, 4-0 (suspended)
Meghan Kelley vs. Shreya Pasricha (New Delhi, India/Amity International School), 2-6, 3-2 (suspended)
Erica Susi def. Katarina Pavlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Srednja Skola Dositej), 6-0, 6-0
Taylor Wingo def. Sabrina Helm (Paramus, NJ/Paramus), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2
 
Doubles
No. 18 Collins/Kelley vs. Castany/Pasricha, 3-3 (suspended)
Mercer/Nauta vs. Chris/Pavlovic,
Elbaba/Susi def. Helm/Rachenko, 6-1
Order of Finish:  3, 2