Doubles Team of Rao, Strome Win Consolation Match at ITA Oracle Cup

(ROME, Ga.) - Sophomore Vinaya Rao (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson) and freshman Melissa Strome (West Bloomfield, Mich. / West Bloomfield) of the Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team won their consolation match at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Oracle Cup on Friday, October 13. The national tournament is being played at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

Rao and Strome faced Flyora Shiyanova and Coco Kulle of New York University with the chance to advance to the fifth-place match on Saturday. Rao and Strome fell behind a set, 6-4, before winning the second set 6-4 to force a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the winner.

The Tartan pair had a strong start to the tiebreaker, earning eight straight points after dropping the first point to take a commanding 8-1 lead. The NYU pair fought back to a 9-5 score before Rao and Strome won the match 10-5.

Rao and Strome will face Washington University in St. Louis senior Grace Deering and freshman Ally Persky on Saturday, October 14 at 3:00 p.m. in the fifth-place match.