FGCU WTEN vs Lipscomb Recap

Opening conference on the road, the FGCU women’s tennis team (5-7, 1-0 A-SUN) sealed the deal with another game-winner as they defeated Lipscomb (7-10, 0-2 A-SUN) 4-3 to open conference. With the win, FGCU improved to 12-0 all-time against the Bisons.

“Today was a battle,” said head coach Courtney Vernon. “The girls did a great job adjusting to going indoors. I am proud of the fight in this team and Laura did a great job clinching the match today.”

“Our energy was really good, but our focus wasn’t always there in the third sets,” Lipscomb head coach Jamie Aid said. “That hurt us in the end, but all in all, (the third sets) showed that we are right there.”

Going into doubles, the duo of senior Julianna Curtis and junior Laura Falceto Font fell 3-6 to sophomore Madeleine Brooks and junior Viktoriya Dzyuba.

The duo of freshman Madison Gallegos and junior Patricia Villar would follow with a 6-2 win over redshirt sophomore Kateryna Kandyba and junior Thabile Tshatedi before junior Julia Ascua and sophomore Maja Ornberg fell 1-6 to sophomore Denise Buberl and junior Viktoriya Dzyuba in the decider as the Bison claimed the doubles point.

“Today was one of the better doubles showings we’ve had,” Aid said. “The girls were up at the net and being aggressive, and I was very pleased with how they played.”

Heading into singles, sophomore Bridget Forster defeated Kandyba with a 6-2 pair win to tie the score at 1-1.

The Eagles would then take a 3-1 lead after sophomore Sofia Perez defeated Tshatedi 6-4, 6-0 and Ornberg, who bounced back after falling in the first set, won 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 over Dzyuba. Perez earned her fifth singles win of the season while Ornberg earned her ninth.

The Bison would tie the game after Gallegos fell 2-6, 7-5, 2-6 to Brooks and Ascua fell 7-6, 0-6, 3-6 to freshman Kateryna Popova leaving it down to one match between Falceto Font and Burberl.

After a losing battle in the first set, the  native of Zaragoza, Spain bounced back in the second set before claiming the third set against Burberl winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

“We told the girls beforehand to expect a lot of third sets and the match would probably be determined in third sets,” Aid said. “(Popova and Brooks) did well to win their matches, but it just wasn’t enough.”

The Eagles will wrap up their two-match conference road as they face Kennesaw State next before returning home facing NJIT and USC Upstate for two straight home conference matchups.