The Old Dominion University women’s tennis team defeated Richmond 4-3 on April 18, closing out its regular season with a narrow victory.
The match was significant as it marked senior day for Lidiia Rasskouskaia, who contributed to the win in both doubles and singles play. The result gives Old Dominion momentum as they prepare for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Head Coach Dominic Manilla said, “I’m thankful for the time Lidiia (Rasskouskaia) has been with us. She has added great value to our program and we will miss her. I’m pleased with how we were able to get a hard earned victory for her on senior day. Hats off to Richmond, they pushed us to the edge!”
In doubles action, Rasskouskaia and Ulyana Romanova secured a win over Lara Bakhaya and Sofia Barbulescu with a score of 6-2. Uladzislava Manzhos and Marina Markina also won their match against Elisabeth Novak and Lucy Webber by the same margin. With these victories, Old Dominion claimed the doubles point before Mya Byrd’s and Victoria Matasova’s match was suspended at 5-4.
Romanova continued her strong performance in singles by defeating Bakhaya 6-2, 6-4. Richmond responded with wins from Barbulescu over Matasova (6-3, 6-4), Lee over Manzhos (6-1, 7-5), and O’Neil over Byrd (7-5, 7-5). Rasskouskaia broke up Richmond’s streak by beating Novak (6-3, 7-5), while Markina clinched the overall victory for Old Dominion after coming from behind against Webber (6-7, 7-5, 6-1).
Old Dominion is set to compete in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament from April 22 through April 26. Seeding details have not yet been announced.
