GREENVILLE, S.C. (Jan. 22, 2012) --- The FIU women's tennis team (0-2) suffered its second-straight loss, following a 4-3 defeat at Furman University on Sunday, Jan. 22.
Falling behind, 3-1, freshman Sarah McLean pulled the Panthers within one point, defeating Lauren Kline in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (5). However, The Paladins clinched the victory with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win by Furman's Alex Moreno-Kaste over senior Christine Seredni.
Furman jumped out to a 1-0 lead after taking two of the three doubles matches. The Paladin duo of Kline and Margaret Boyette defeated sophomore Giulietta Boha and freshman Karyn Guttormsen, 8-1. FIU's McLean and junior Rita Maisak tied the doubles competition with an 8-3 win over Katherine Oudin and Moreno-Kaste. Furman earned the doubles point as Michele Stanford and Amanda Murray defeated senior Lisa Johnson and Seredni, 9-8 (4).
The Panthers tied the match a 1-1 following a 6-2, 6-1 win for Maisak over Stanford for her first signles victory of the spring. Furman regained the lead, 2-1, and never looked back as Boyette defeated Boha, 6-1, 6-4. Oudin downed Johnson, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, while Guttormsen earned her first singles victory of the spring with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, win over Susan Bitetti.
The Panthers will travel to Athens, Ga., to take on the No. 66th-ranked Fresno State Bulldogs in the opening round of the 2012 ITA Team Indoor qualifiers on Friday, Jan. 27. The match is slated for 9 a.m.
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 17 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls 46,000 students in two campus and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in17 sports. In 2010 the Panthers won their first bowl game. For more information about FIU, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/.
