CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - No. 4 USC defeated No. 12 Virginia, 4-1, in the first round of the 2013 ITA Women's National Indoor Championships Friday afternoon at Boar's Head Sports Club.
The Cavaliers fall to 1-1, while USC improves to 6-0. Virginia plays No. 16 Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Virginia claimed the doubles point, but lost four straight singles matches, including a three-setter in the clinching match at No. 4 singles.
After No. 10 Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) and Li Xi (Kunming, China) lost 8-0 to No. 1 Sabrina Santamaria and Kaitlyn Christian at No. 1, No. 5 Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) and Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) beat No. 13 Gabriella DeSimone and Zoe Scandalis 8-2 at No. 2. Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and Hana Tomljanovic(Boca Raton, Fla.) clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Giuliana Olmos and Danielle Lao at No. 3.
USC tied the match at 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-1 win from No. 17 Santamaria over Xi at No. 2 singles. The Trojans gained the lead when No. 14 Lao beat No. 4 Elbaba 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1. Olmos gave USC a 3-1 lead with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over Vierra at No. 5 and No. 56 DeSimone clinched the match with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(4) win over Epstein at No. 4.
UVa and Boar's Head Sports Club are hosting the ITA National Indoors for the third straight year. Joining No. 12 Virginia in the 16-team field are No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Cal, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Miami (Fla.), No. 11 Texas, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 15 Baylor, No. 16 Michigan, No. 17 Nebraska and No. 21 Vanderbilt.
Dual matches are scheduled at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with the championship match set for 11 a.m. on Monday. Each of the 16 teams is guaranteed three matches during the championship. Fans can attend the four-day championship FREE of charge.
Live stats for the event can be found at VirginiaSports.com and fans are encouraged to visit ITATennis.com for comprehensive information about the championship.
