Bradenton, Fla - After another strong season in the archives, the SCF tennis team will look to put 2022 in the past as they prepare for the 2023 season opener. The Manatees will open the season at home at the SCF Tennis Complex as they welcome Southeastern University (NAIA) Tuesday afternoon, January 31 at 4:30 pm. before welcoming Rollins College (NCAA DII) Wednesday afternoon, February 1 at 2 pm.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees are coming off of finishing last season 7-4 overall with a 2-4 record in conference, while being ranked #6 in the nation. They would finish third in conference before traveling to Almonte Springs for the FCSAA State Tournament where they would earn an automatic qualifying bid to the NJCAA National Tennis Tournament in Tucson, Arizona. There they would finish in sixth place out of the 27 teams that qualified.
Meet the Team:
The team is lead by head coach and assistant athletic director Chloe Murphy. The 2014 SCF alum and former standout at the University of South Florida (USF) enters her sixth season as head coach and second season as assistant athletic director.
With a new season, it will include changes on the roster as four players have moved on play collegiate tennis at the university level, Carlotta 'Carly' Gascon Martinez (Bluefield College NAIA), Kia Carvalho-Landell (Holy Cross College NAIA) and Luna Mouton (West Georgia NCAA DII).
The Manatees were able to return two players from last season in sophomores Sakurao "Saku" Suzuki and Jenna Gusto.
Suzuki finished her freshman campaign 14-5 at #5 singles and 14-4 at #2 doubles with Lou De Freitas Bonet. She was the FCSAA Flight 5 Singles Champion before finishing as far as the semifinals in the NJCAA Women's Tennis Tournament.
Gusto played mostly in exhibition matches for the Manatees.
Murphy was able to sign six newcomers, which include freshman Ainara Vegal Rodriguez and sophomore transfer Elena Baughman Sanders (Weatherford College).
Scouting Southeastern:
The Lady Flames are lead by head coach Drew Dickens, who enters his fifth season as head coach for both the men's and women's teams.
The Lady Flames, who were ranked at #14 in the nation (NAIA), are coming off of finishing last season 14-7 overall with a 3-3 record in the Sun Conference. They would fall to then #2 Keiser (#1 seed in the tournament) in the semifinals of the Sun Conference Tennis Tournament before securing a spot in the NAIA National Tournament as an at-large bid where they would win the first round over #19 Midland University (4-0) before falling in the round of 16 to #4 LSU Alexandria (4-0).
For the start of the season, they are ranked #12 in the nation (NAIA).
Dickens will bring back the majority of the entire roster from last season. The primary returners for the Lady Flames include sophomore Martina Picardi, seniors Abigail Damon, Maria Martinez and Beatrice Letizia and grad student Priscilla Baptista.
Picardi finished her freshman campaign 13-3 overall in singles (10-2 at #1 singles; 3-1 at #2 singles) and 13-7 in doubles with Baptista (11-4 #2 doubles; 2-3 at #1 doubles). As a result of her playing, the Italian native was named the Sun Conference Player of the Year as well as a member of the All-Sun Conference First Team.
Playing all season at #6 singles, Damon finished her junior year 9-8 in singles and 6-11 in doubles (4-3 at #3 with Neleah Neiberline, 2-8 at #1 with Letizia).
Martinez was 1-0 at the #6 singles before being sidelined with an injury during the spring, however she served as a player assistant and was eventually named a recipient of the Champion of Character award for her spirit.
Letizia rotated playing between #1 and #2 singles where she had a combined 11-5 in singles (2-2 @ #1 singles, 9-3 @ #2 singles) and 3-14 with Damon at #1 and #2 doubles.
Baptista played between #3 to #5 singles where she went 10-6 overall in singles play and 12-7 in doubles with Picardi. Additionally, she was named a member of the All-Sun Lakes Conference Second Team.
Series History:
The series between SCF and Southeastern is in favor of the Manatees as they are 2-1 overall. In their last meeting, the Manatees came out on top by a score of 8-1.
How to Keep Up:
The matches will have livestats provided by ioncourt.com and will air a random match on the SCF Manatees Facebook page. Fans can keep up with the team on their social media platforms:
Livestats - https://ioncourt.com/ties/62016357c7d307efde9eebb4
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