March 20, 2011
Final Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Freshman Welma Luus picked up the biggest win of her collegiate career Sunday afternoon, battling back from down one set to knock off Virginia's Maria Fucillo 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 clinching the match for the Maryland Terrapins.
Luus recently moved up to the No. 5 singles slot and quickly proved she belonged. With the score tied 3-3, Luus' victory secured the Terps first ACC win of the season.
No. 34 Maryland (11-2, 1-2 ACC) notched its first victory over a top 15 opponent since April 10, 2005 when the Terps knocked off 12th-ranked Duke. The Terrapins are also off to one of the best starts in program history, picking up their eleventh win of the season against No. 11 Virginia (13-3, 2-1 ACC) 4-3.
"I'm really proud of the girls," said head coach Howard Joffe. "It was a huge win for our program, and I'm really proud of the way they fought through."
The Terps run this season would not be possible without contributions from newcomers Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Jordaan Sanford. The duo remained perfect in dual doubles beating No. 20 Emily Fraser and Hana Tomljanovic 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. They improved to 13-0 on the season.
No. 121 Sanchez-Quintanar remained unbeaten as well picking up the Terps second point of the match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 55 Fraser at No. 1 singles. She is now 12-0 in dual singles.
Sanford also picked up a win in singles, topping No. 96 Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-3 to give the Terps a 3-2 advantage.
But it was Luus' day as she not only picked up the match point, but teamed with partner Ana Belzunce at No. 2 doubles to secure Maryland's first point of the match. Luus and Belzunce beat Virginia's Fucillo and Erin Vierra 8-4 as the Terps gained an early 1-0 lead.
"The team played well; everyone fought really hard," said Luus. "It was quite close. I'm just glad I could pull through with the win, and the team could pull through with the win."
The road does not get any easier for the Terps as they host highly ranked North Carolina and Duke next weekend. North Carolina visits College Park for a 2 p.m. showdown Friday, while Maryland battles Duke Sunday at noon. Both matches are scheduled to be played at the Cole Tennis Courts barring weather.
