SWEET BRIAR, Va. / NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Sweet Briar tennis  competed in a host of matches today, participating in the annual Battle of the Blue Ridge tournament while also going head-to-head against Division II Chowan and Division I Hampton at the CNU Invite.
 
At the Van Der Meer Tennis Center, the Vixens played a six singles and three doubles flight tournament with Guilford, Shenandoah and Southern Virginia.
 
Junior Isabela Guilarte (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) won flight two singles after taking down Campbell Bueler (SVU) and Jada Lewis (SU) by scores of 6-0, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-1.
 
Senior Kate Kotany (Erd, Hungary) bounced back after an initial loss in the first flight to defeat Hannah Purdue (GC), 8-7 (7-3) in the consolation match. First-year Isa Chen (Mogi Das Cruzes, Brazil) also ended the day on a high note with a victory over Nya Reed (GC), 8-1.
 
First-years Alex Guilarte (Barquisimeto, Venezuela), Lucia Bovard (Mount Pleasant, N.C.) and Atty Bestwick (Durham, N.C.) all won their first matches in a Sweet Briar uniform by scores of 6-0, 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-0, respectively.
 
In doubles play, the pairing of Bovard/Kotany reigned supreme over flight two, taking down Pardue/Moses (GC), 8-1 and Bueler/Molanphy (SVU), 7-6 (9-7).
 
Chen/Bestwick won in their first outing together as well, taking down Reed/Kimsey (GC), 8-0. The team of Guilarte/Guilarte saw success at flight one with a win over Belnap/Nhouyvanisvong (GC), 8-2.
 
The Vixens saw success in their first dual match of the season, sweeping the DII Chowan Hawks 6-0. With the Hawks limited to only five players, de Souza/Patino completed the only doubles match, winning by a score of 8-1.
 
In singles play, senior Ruth de Souza (Marilia, Brazil) held strong at the No. 1 spot, defeating Feidi Rodriguez 6-3, 6-0. Both sophomore Ana Patino (Medellín, Colombia) and senior Allison Wandling (Mechanicsville, Va.) won their matches by scores of 6-1, 6-2.
 
Senior Sofia Andrade (Latacunga, Ecuador) won in three sets over Sreshta Puducheri, 6-0, 6-2, 10-3 while fellow senior Nikhita Simhambhatla (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) defeated Asuntha Fleming, 6-2, 6-2. Sophomore Maria Caro (Bogota, Colombia) won her match by a forfeit from Chowan.
 
The second match of the day saw a much closer competition between the Vixens and DI Hampton Pirates, with Sweet Briar falling 4-3.
 
After dropping the doubles point, the Vixens played a stellar singles game with de Souza, Simhambhatla and Caro all winning their matches.
 
At No. 1 singles, de Souza took down Diana Starodubtseva, 3-6, 6-4, 3-10 while Simhambhatla and Caro won at the No. 5 and No. 6 slots by scores of 6-3, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-0, respectively.
 
Highlights

• All of Sweet Briar's first-year athletes won matches in their first collegiate outing.
• The Vixens win over Chowan marks their second-straight victory over a DII opponent; including the 9-0 routing over Albany State last season.
• Sweet Briar took down the Hawks in the two programs' first-ever meeting.

What's Next
The CNU Invite will continue tomorrow, Sept. 18.