VT’s Mila Mulready’s singles win pushes Hokies past the Orange
Virginia Tech's Mila Mulready's singles win proved crucial in the Hokies' 4-3 win over Syracuse, pushing SU to 1-8 in ACC play. Henry Zhang | Staff Photographer
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Virginia Tech entered its bout with Syracuse Friday 0-9 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. However, it had one thing to hang its hat on. Freshman phenom Mila Mulready has proven to be one of the elite players in the conference.
Mulready, a Burlington, California, native, has won at every level. Throughout her junior years, she claimed multiple singles and doubles titles. In high school, she led Burlingame High School to two league championships from the No. 1 singles position.
Mulready arrived at VT as a five-star recruit, ranking in the top 90 nationally. Following a disappointing 9-13 campaign last season, the Hokies desperately needed an injection of talent. And while they were winless in ACC play coming into Friday’s match, Mulready was a team-best 5-1 in conference singles play.
On Friday, she continued her dominance, propelling Virginia Tech (12-10, 1-9 ACC) to a 4-3 win over Syracuse (8-8, 1-8 ACC), with a key singles victory that tied the match at 2-2. From there, the Hokies won two of the remaining three matches to claim its first conference win of the season.
Friday was yet another chapter in Mulready’s already storied career. Against Syracuse, Mulready matched up against Shoiri Ito, a senior who has compiled 123 wins in her SU career. Mulready proved her lack of experience wasn’t a barrier to success.
“She didn’t give Shiori any free points,” Syracuse head coach Younes Limam said.
Ito was just 2-5 in conference singles coming into the match, often playing out of the No. 5 singles spot. Mulready, who frequently plays in the No. 6 singles spot, got the start at No. 5 Friday.
Syracuse trailed 1-0 heading into singles, and it needed to win four of the remaining six matches to clinch a victory.
Ito jumped out to a 1-0 advantage, but her forehand landed wide in the second game, and Mulready evened the match at 1-1. Mulready had an opportunity to take a 30-15 lead in the third game with Ito out of position, but her shot missed wide. Mulready held her racket to her face in disbelief; it was a rare moment in the match where she showed frustration.
But tied at 40-40, Ito’s return landed long, and Mulready took a 2-1 advantage.
Standing at 5-foot-2, Ito’s hallmark is her quickness, relying on her footwork. There are few returns on the court that she can’t reach.
Mulready, however, had no issue adapting to Ito’s quickness, and it was clear Ito’s advantage was neutralized. The freshman took a 3-2 lead after Ito’s shot sailed long. Mulready’s patience throughout the first set was impressive; rarely did she commit an unforced error — a style Ito deploys.
Ito sighed in frustration after her return fell short, giving Mulready a 30-0 advantage in the seventh game. From there, Mulready closed out the first set 6-2 with a powerful forehand Ito barely got her racket on.
But as Syracuse began to gain traction in the other singles matches, with Miyuka Kimoto and Serafima Shastova in control of their matches, Mulready finally blinked. Tied at 1-1 in the second set, her return sailed wide twice to give Ito a 3-2 lead. In the following game, her returns landed short on back-to-back points, and Ito took a 4-3 advantage.
Still, she rebounded. Trailing 5-4, Mulready won the most improbable point of the match. Ito charged the net and spiked it at her, but she managed to barely get enough racket on the return. Ito, remaining at the net, attempted to hit it low to Mulready, but Mulready punished her by placing a shot to the backcourt. The point summed up the match — even on the points Ito should have gotten, she failed to execute.
The two split the following two games, bringing the set to a tiebreak. Kimoto and Shastova cruised to victories in their matches to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead. For the Hokies, the match was pivotal. Mulready needed to even the score at 2-2.
And she delivered, blitzing Ito in the tiebreak. Mulready closed the match in a familiar fashion, as Ito’s return came up short. The freshman improved her singles record to 6-1 with the win, but most importantly, won the crucial match that gave Virginia Tech momentum to outlast Syracuse.
“I wish we could have had that tiebreaker and changed the momentum a bit and the belief of the match,” Limam said.
