The short story: VCU rallied from an early deficit and junior Anna Rasmussen capped the comeback on the No. 1 singles court as the Rams won the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Sunday over UMass in Orlando, Fla.
OPENING SERVE
· VCU trailed 1-0, but swiftly scored straight set wins on the No. 3, 4 and 6 singles courts to grab a commanding 3-1 lead
· The Minutewomen were able to pull within 3-2, but Rasmussen took control. Ruth Crawford pushed Rasmussen to the limit in the opening set, but the VCU junior hung on 7-6 (10). There was no such drama in the second set as Rasmussen won five of the first six games on the way to a 6-2 victory
· UMass, which edged VCU in last year’s A-10 title match, grabbed a 1-0 lead with wins on the No. 2 and 3 doubles courts
· Sophomore Noumea Witmus defeated Laura Moreno on the No. 4 court for VCU. She was a perfect 3-0 in singles play in the A-10 Tournament
NOTABLE
· VCU will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time with Sunday’s win. The Rams have reached the NCAA Tournament in 12 of the past 13 years
· The Rams have won the Atlantic 10 Tournament crown five times in six seasons since joining the league prior to the 2012-13 campaign
· In 17 seasons as head coach of the VCU Women’s program, Paul Kostin has led the Rams to 15 NCAA berths and nine conference championships
WHAT’S NEXT
VCU will learn its NCAA destination on Tuesday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m.
RESULTS
#1 VCU def. #6 MASSACHUSETTS, 4-2
Singles
1. Anna Rasmussen (VCU), def. Ruth Crawford, 7-6(6), 6-2
2. Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado (VCU) vs. Ana Yrazusta, 7-6(10), 3-2, DNF
3. Marina Alcaide Bakkari (VCU) def. Janja Kovacevic, 6-1, 6-2
4. Noumea Witmus (VCU) def. Laura Moreno, 6-2, 6-1
5. Anna Napadiy (UM) def. Kanako Yano, 6-4, 6-1
6. Sofia Sualehe (VCU), def. Martina Bocchi, 7-6(6), 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 6, 5, 1
Doubles
1. Anna Rasmussen/Kanako Yano (VCU) vs. Laura Moreno/Ruth Crawford, 5-4, DNF
2. Janja Kovacevic/Martina Bocchi (UM) def. Noumea Witmus/Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado, 6-1
3. Ana Yrazusta/Anna Napadiy (UM) def. Marina Alcaide Bakkari/Sofia Sualehe, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3
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