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Virginia Commonwealth University

#LetsGoVCU
Isa Andrade
1
University of Richmond UR (4-9)
4
Winner VCU VCU (9-8)
University of Richmond UR
(4-9)
1
Final
4
VCU VCU
(9-8)
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis |

VCU DEFEATS RICHMOND 4-1, TO STAY UNBEATEN IN A-10 PLAY

Final: VCU 4, Richmond 1
Location: Richmond, Va. (Thalhimer Tennis Center)
Records: VCU 9-8 (3-0 Atlantic 10), Richmond 4-9

The Short Story: VCU Women's Tennis secured the doubles point and controlled singles play with three straight-set victories to defeat Richmond, 4-1, continuing the Rams' dominance in the crosstown rivalry.

Quote from Coach Kahfiani: "It's a great win against a crosstown rival, and I'm really happy with our performance. We've been practicing well, and the girls continue to develop each time we compete. With the history of these programs, especially recently in the A-10 Tournament, it's always an exciting match. Today we competed with great discipline and effort, and I'm excited to see this group continue to grow!"

Opening Serve: 
  • Today's match marked the 21st meeting all-time between crosstown rivals VCU and Richmond. The two programs last met in the 2025 Atlantic 10 Championship, where VCU defeated Richmond 4-1 on its way to the conference title. Richmond entered the match at 4-8 overall, coming off a 4-3 win over George Mason and a 4-3 loss to CSUN, while VCU split the previous weekend, sweeping George Mason before falling to Old Dominion.
  • Similar to the history of the matchup and last year's result, the Rams controlled play throughout, leading on all three doubles courts and holding advantages on the majority of singles courts as they continued to dominate the crosstown rivalry.
Doubles
  • VCU claimed the doubles point with strong performances on all three courts. Sara Alba and Viktoria Lackova set the tone early with a commanding performance on Court 3, cruising to a 6-1 victory to give the Rams an early edge.
  • Moments later, Andrea Magallanes and Sofia Jane Thorne built momentum on Court 2, turning early leads of 3-1 and 4-2 into a 6-4 win to secure the doubles point for the Rams.
  • On Court 1, Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando and Mariam Ibrahim battled back from an early 0-2 deficit, leveling the set at 2-2 and taking a 5-3 lead before the match was left unfinished.
Singles
  • The Rams secured the team victory with a number of strong performances across the singles lineup. Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando made quick work of Richmond's Elizabeth Novak on Court 2. Andrade Sabando jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and never looked back, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. 
  • Mariam Ibrahim followed on Court 3 with a resilient performance, battling through a tight first set and overcoming a 4-5 deficit to claim it 7-5. Ibrahim carried that momentum into the second set, pulling away for a 6-1 victory. 
  • With the match on the line, reigning A-10 Player of the Week Andrea Magallanes rose to the moment on Court 5, battling back from a 2-3 deficit and shifting momentum at 4-3 before closing out the set 7-6 with a 7-1 tiebreak. From that point on, Magallanes didn't look back, cruising to a 6-2 second-set victory to clinch the match for the Rams and improve to 10-4 in singles this season.
  • On Court 1, Sofia Jane Thorne dropped the opening set 5-7 before answering with a 6-2 win in the second. She led 3-2 in the third and looked poised to win when play was halted.
  • On Court 6, Sara Alba got off to a strong start, taking the opening set 6-1. She dropped a second-set tiebreak, 6-7 (7-9), and trailed 0-2 in the third before the match was left unfinished.
Singles Results
  1. Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) vs. Sofia Barbulescu (UR) 5-7, 6-2, 3-2 (Unfinished)
  2. Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando (VCU) def. Elizabeth Novak (UR) 6-1, 6-0
  3. Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) def. Lucy Webber (UR) 7-5, 6-1
  4. Abby Lee (UR) def. Viktoria Lackova (VCU) 6-3, 6-1
  5. Andrea Magallanes (VCU) def. Lainey O'Neil (UR) 7-6(1), 6-2
  6. Beatriz Guerra (UR) vs. Sara Alba (VCU) 1-6, 7-6(7), 2-0 (Unfinished)
Doubles Results
  1. Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando / Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) vs. Sofia Barbulescu / Abby Lee (UR) 5-3 (Unfinished)
  2. Andrea Magallanes / Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) def. Lainey O'Neil / Lucy Webber (UR) 6-4
  3. Sara Alba / Viktoria Lackova (VCU) def. Beatriz Guerra / Elizabeth Novak (UR) 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 2 Singles: 2, 4, 3, 5

Up Next: VCU travels to Delaware next Friday for a one-match weekend, with first serve set for 11 a.m.



 
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