Score: Marshall 6, VCU 1
Location: Huntington, W.Va. (7827 Tennis Center)
Records: VCU 3-2 (0-0 Atlantic 10), Marshall 5-3
 
The Short Story: VCU Women's Tennis dropped a 6-1 decision at Marshall on Sunday afternoon in Huntington, West Virginia.
 
Opening Serve
 
VCU Women's Tennis began its first road trip of the season in its lone match of the weekend. The Rams entered the contest on a three-match win streak after victories over Temple, Longwood, and Morgan State, while Marshall came in having won its previous two matches against Bowling Green and Cleveland State.
 
Doubles

• Doubles action began on Court 1 as Andrea Magallanes and Sofia Jane Thorne found themselves in an early hole, as the pair quickly fell behind 0-2. Despite the slow start, the duo gained momentum and responded with three unanswered games to take a 3-2 lead, fueled by strong serves from Magallanes and composed play from Thorne. Marshall's Polina Gumeniuk and Alina Mokrynska evened the score at 3-3, but from that point on it was all VCU. Magallanes and Thorne separated themselves from the Herd duo with another run of three unanswered games to close out the match, 6-3, giving the Rams the first victory of the afternoon.
• On court three, Sara Alba and Viktoria Lackova jumped out to an early 2-1 lead, but in a tightly contested match, the Rams duo ultimately fell 6-4, evening the doubles point.
• Finally on court two, Mariam Ibrahim and Elicia Kim competed in an hour long doubles match that saw the score evened at 2-2, 5-5, and again at 6-6 before the duo ultimately fell 9-7 in the tiebreak. 

Singles

• For the Rams, the bright spot in singles came on court four from Elicia Kim. Kim got off to a strong start, taking a 2-0 lead against Marshall's Sarah Copley to begin the contest. Copley fought back to tie the score at four apiece, but Kim finished the set the same way she started, winning the final two games to take the set, 6-4. The second set mirrored the first, staying close from start to finish. The score swung back and forth, with both players putting together runs, before the set was pushed to a tiebreak at 6-6. In the tiebreaker, Kim outlasted Copley 7-3, to secure her second singles victory in as many matches.

Singles results
1. Johanna Strom (MU) def. Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Polina Gumeniuk (MU) def. Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Alina Mokrynska (MU) def. Viktoria Lackova (VCU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Elicia Kim (VCU) def. Sarah Copley (MU) 6-4, 7-6(3) 
5. Thalia Smith (MU) def. Andrea Magallanes (VCU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Nour El Ouazzani (MU) def. Sara Alba (VCU) 6-4, 7-5
 
Doubles results
1. Sofia Jane Thorne /Andrea Magallanes (VCU) def. Polina Gumeniuk /Alina Mokrynska (MU) 6-3
2. Paula Berzina /Sarah Copley (MU) def. Mariam Ibrahim / Elicia Kim (VCU) 7-6(7)
3. Nour El Ouazzani /Johanna Strom (MU) def. Sara Alba /Viktoria Lackova (VCU) 6-4
 
Order of Finish: Doubles: 1, 3, 2   Singles: 2, 5, 1, 3, 4, 6
 
Up Next: VCU will be back in action on Thursday, February 12, as they host William & Mary at 2 p.m. at Thalhimer Tennis Center.