Final: VCU 4, Fordham 3
Location: Orlando, Fla. (USTA National Campus)
Records: VCU 14-10 (8-0 Atlantic 10), Fordham 15-10 (7-1 Atlantic 10)

The Short Story: VCU women's tennis claimed the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 4-3 win over Fordham, using late singles victories and a final-court clinch from Andrea Magallanes to secure the title.

Opening Serve

• Saturday's championship match brought together two familiar Atlantic 10 foes in VCU and Fordham, with a well-established history shaping the stage. The Rams entered holding a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series, though the most recent chapter between the programs had been evenly split 1-1. During the 2025 season, the teams exchanged 4-2 decisions, including a meeting in last year's Atlantic 10 semifinal, in which VCU came out on top.
• VCU arrived with a 13-10 overall record, riding a four-match winning streak, all against conference opponents, and boasting a perfect 7-0 record in Atlantic 10 play this season. The Fordham entered at 15-9 and matched that mark with an unbeaten 7-0 record in conference competition, setting up a championship clash between the league's two remaining unbeaten teams.
• As expected, there was little separation between the two, but as has been the case for much of the past decade, VCU once again came out on top, securing its second consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship and sixth in eight seasons.

Doubles

• VCU took the doubles point with wins on Courts 2 and 3. Sara Alba and Viktoria Lackova finished first, continuing their strong partnership and improving to 12-9 together with a 6-2 win on Court 3. Sofia Jane Thorne and Andrea Magallanes followed on Court 2, turning a 1-2 deficit into a 6-3 victory to clinch the point for the Rams.
• On Court 1, Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando and Mariam Ibrahim were all square at 4-4 when the match was left unfinished.

Singles

• After VCU secured the doubles point, Fordham struck first in singles on Court 1 to tie the match at 1-1. With the Rams needing a response, Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando restored VCU's advantage. Andrade stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and never looked back, closing it out 6-3. The second set followed a similar rhythm, as she led early once again. Fordham's Paola Dalmonico trimmed it back to within a point at 3-2, but Andrade extended her lead to complete another 6-3 win and put VCU in front 2-1.
• Fordham then claimed Courts 5 and 6 to move back in front 3-2, leaving VCU needing wins on the final two courts to win the match.
• On Court 3, Mariam Ibrahim stepped up once again when the Rams needed a result. In the first set, Ibrahim worked back from 1-2 down to 3-3 before closing it out strong 6-3. The second set proved more challenging, as Ibrahim trailed Fordham's Valerija Kargina at 2-3, 2-4, and 3-4, but just as she had done the day prior against Richmond, Ibrahim battled her way back to even the set at 5-5 and then 6-6 to force a tiebreak.
• In the breaker, she again fell behind 2-5, but responded by winning five of the next seven points to level it at 7-7. From there, Ibrahim closed out a 9-7 tiebreak to even the overall match at 3-3.
• That left Andrea Magallanes with the championship on her racquet. Magallanes fell behind early, trailing 1-4 before dropping the opening set 3-6. Needing a response, Magallanes came out strong in the second, jumping ahead 5-2 and eventually securing the set 6-4 to force a deciding third. The final set of the match began evenly, with Magallanes and Fordham's Catalina Padilla trading games to 1-1 and 2-2, before inclement weather interrupted play at 30-30 in the fifth game. After a two-hour delay, Magallanes and Padilla returned to the court with the score still level at 2-2. From that point on, it was all Magallanes, as she won the remaining four games to take the set 6-2 and secure the Atlantic 10 Championship for VCU in an instant classic in Orlando.

Singles Results

1. Nevena Kolarevic (FORD) def. Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando (VCU) def. Paola Dalmonico (FORD) 6-3, 6-3
3. Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) def. Valerija Kargina (FORD) 6-3, 7-6(7)
4. Andrea Magallanes (VCU) def. Catalina Padilla (FORD) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Lily Chitambar (FORD) def. Elicia Kim (VCU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Julianne Nguyen (FORD) def. Sara Alba (VCU) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles Results

1. Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando / Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) vs. Nevena Kolarevic / Julianne Nguyen (FORD) 4-4 (Unfinished)
2. Andrea Magallanes / Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) def. Lily Chitambar / Valerija Kargina (FORD) 6-3
3. Sara Alba / Viktoria Lackova (VCU) def. Paola Dalmonico / Catalina Padilla (FORD) 6-2

Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 2  Singles: 1, 2, 6, 5, 3, 4 

Up Next: VCU will learn its first-round opponent for the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is announced.