VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Norfolk State women's tennis began its 2021 season on Tuesday afternoon with a 7-0 win over Virginia Wesleyan at the Everett Tennis Center.
 
The Spartans won both completed doubles matches by identical 6-3 scores, and they lost no more than one game in four of the six singles matches on the way to the win.

"Today was a good win for us after not competing for 11 months," said head coach Larry Holmes. "The ladies played with high energy and were eager to compete. The conditions were not the best with heavy wind, but they managed to play through that despite having not played outdoor since the fall. We are happy with the win today, but we have a lot to improve upon." 

Virginia Wesleyan, which was also playing its first contest of the year, took a few games from NSU in doubles. The Spartans won at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, with senior Paula Fortuno and freshman Zada McMorris earning the win at the first position over Alexa Brewster and Audrey Bally.
 
Seniors Zoe Fraser and Bruna Goncalves earned the victory at the second position over Virginia Wesleyan's Christine Zalameda and Anna Rogers. Meanwhile at No. 3 doubles, freshmen Andrea Barcenas and Lydia Oviedo were ahead 4-3 against Shannon Lewes and Kristina Abrams before the match was abandoned.
 
Fraser went perfect in singles, winning 6-0, 6-0 over Zalameda at the second position. Goncalves, freshman Laura Ruiz and Oviedo all won by identical 6-1, 6-0 scores. Goncalves defeated Rogers at No. 4 singles, Ruiz took down Lewes at the fifth position, and Oviedo beat Amanda Stegemann at the No. 6 spot.
 
Barcenas earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the third position over Bally, while Fortuno needed a third-set tiebreaker for the win over Brewster at the top of the lineup. Brewster won the first set, 6-2, but Fortuno returned the favor with a 6-2 win in the second set. She ended the afternoon's action with a 10-8 victory in the tiebreaker to close out the match.
 
NSU will play twice more this week, beginning Thursday at home against UNC Greensboro at 2 p.m. followed by a Saturday contest at Richmond.