Bradenton, Fla - The #6 SCF tennis team (3-1, 1-1 Region 8) were able to bounce back from a heartbreaking conference loss as they defeated NAIA Florida National University (2-1) 5-4 in a close matchup at the SCF Tennis Complex.
"Overall, I'm very happy with the win today," said head coach Chloe Murphy. "We got a couple of big wins in singles. The #1 and #2 teams played really well in doubles. We do have some things we need to work on, but overall I'm pretty satisfied, even with the singles competed really hard and not getting the win, but we got the win as a team overall."
"Our energy was not that good to start," said sophomore Carlotta Gascon Martinez. "We could have been a lot better. When we transitioned from doubles to singles, the energy changed and we came back, which was good."
"I think we struggled with doubles to start," said sophomore Kia Carvalho-Landell. "We were nervous and tired, which changed our attitudes and that could have been a lot better. I think when we played in singles, we got back to the way we were supposed to be."
Beginning with double play, the duo of sophomore Lou De Freitas Bonet and freshman Sakurako Suzuki defeated the freshmen duo of Johanna Brauer and Nadia Abad 8-2 at #2 doubles. Following Bonet and Suzuki's win, Gascon Martinez and Carvalho-Landell (#4) defeated freshman Nina Lagenfeld and junior Karayna Krykunenko 8-4 at #1 doubles before the sophomore duo of #17 Sarah Forsyth and Luna Mouton fell to sophomore Vanessa Simeone and freshman Fabiola Bsereni. After doubles, the Manatees took the lead 2-1.
As singles went underway, Carvalho-Landell (#30) defeated senior Paulina Jankun 6-1, 6-4 at #3 singles to start it off.
"I think my match was a little frustrating," said Carvalho-Landell on her game. "I won the first set, but when I was up 4-0 in the second set I started making mistakes and frustrated myself, so I needed to break the pattern by taking the pace off the ball and put in on the court and it paid off in the end."
"Kia played a really solid matchup until the second set where she was ahead 4-1," said Murphy on Carvalho-Landell's match. "She lost a little bit of concentration, but she had support the same that Lou did in her tiebreaker. Sometimes you don't play pretty tennis, but getting the win is all that matters."
Following Carvalho-Landell's win, the Conquistadors would win the next two matches as freshman Jessica Bustamante would fall to Bsereni 6-3, 6-2 at #6 singles before Forsyth would fall to Brauer 6-3, 6-2 at #4 singles and tie the series at 3-3, but the Manatee would eventually seal the deal as De Freitas Bonet (#12) would defeat Simeone 6-2, 7-6 at #2 singles before Gascon Martinez (#33) would defeat junior Sofi Pera 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 at #1 singles to make it 5-3 SCF. In the final match, Suzuki would fall in the final match to Abad at #5 singles via retire.
"When I lost the first set, I went to the bathroom and said 'you have to do better than this'," said Gascon Martinez on her singles match. "I just came back and thought that this was my match to win and I needed this win for myself, which was nice.
"Carly had a little bit of a struggle in the first set, trying to figure out her opponent's game style and how she wanted to play her," said Murphy on Gascon Martinez's singles game. "She did a good job clearing her head in the second and third sets, played simple tennis and got the job done. I think it was testament to where her mentality is at and she was able to pull it out."
Up Next:
The Manatees will play another scrimmage on the road as they travel to Daytona to play Embry-Riddle Friday afternoon, March 4 at 3:30 pm before returning home to welcome Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College (3-5) Friday morning, March 11 at 9 am.
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