SWEET BRIAR, Va. — The Sweet Briar tennis program opened the 2021 spring season on Saturday with five championships at the Second Annual Battle of the Blue Ridge, held at the Dennis Van Der Meer Tennis Center on the Sweet Briar campus.
The four-team tournament got started with doubles action and Sweet Briar's top duo took care of business in the semifinal round as sophomores Ruth de Souza (Marilia, Brazil) and Allison Wandling (Mechanicsville, Va.) won 8-1 against the top pair from Bluefield (Va.).
In the top flight championship round, de Souza and Wandling won 8-5 in a battle against Southern Virginia's Lindsey Brown and Anna Peterson.
The second doubles flight saw first-year Isabela Guilarte (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and sophomore Kate Kotany (Erd, Hungary) earn an 8-5 semifinals win, before defeating Morgan Blount and Alyssa Sewell of Southern Virginia 8-2.
Singles' action saw success for the Vixens in the top four spots, as Guilarte finished as the runner-up in the fourth flight. Guilarte won in her collegiate singles debut defeating Bluefield's Katharina Zausek 6-0, 6-1 before falling in three sets to Paula Rhysen of Averett in the championship match.
Kotany opened her sophomore season with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Southern Virginia's Alyssa Sewell in the third flight semifinal and then fought for a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory in the championship round against Inka Zeilstra of Averett.
The second flight of singles saw a 6-0, 6-0 victory by Wandling as she won her semifinals match against Camilla Coradi of Bluefield. In an eight-game pro-set championship match, Wandling defeated Peterson 8-4.
The Vixens wrapped the day with a championship in the top flight after de Souza earned a 6-4, 6-1 win over Averett's Louise Hovhammar before winning a single-set 6-1 match against Peterson.
Guilarte and junior Alexia Alfaro (Laredo, Texas) made their Sweet Briar debuts on Saturday at the Battle of the Blue Ridge.
Sweet Briar is scheduled to open the dual season at home on February 26 with a 2 p.m. start against Pfeiffer.
