ATHENS, Ga. (Jan. 27, 2012) --- Freshman Karyn Guttormsen won her second-straight singles match with a 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Fresno State's Bianca Modoc as FIU (1-2) clinched a 4-2 win over the No. 66-ranked Bulldogs (0-1) during the opening round of the 2012 ITA Kickoff Weekend in Athens, Ga.
The win marked the first of the season for the Panthers and improved FIU to 2-3 all-time versus Fresno State.
With the match tied at 2-all, sophomore Rita Maisak downed Melissa Kirpicheva, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 for her second singles victory of the spring. The win gave FIU a 3-2 advantage with two more matches to be played. Guttormsen battled Modoc to a third set in which the native of Kenosha, Wis., won 6-1. The victory clinched the match for FIU, 4-2.
FIU jumped out to a 1-0 lead, taking the doubles portion of the competition, 2-1. Fresno State's Marianne Jodoin and Tanya Murtagh defeated Guttormsen and sophomore Giulietta Boha, 8-1. The Panthers responded with an 8-4 victory by Maisak and freshman Sarah McLean over Laura Pola and Kirpicheva. FIU captured the doubles point following an 8-6 victory by seniors Lisa Johnson and Christine Seredni over Aishwarya Agrawal and Melissa McQueen.
Johnson gave FIU a 2-0 advantage following a straight-set win over Pola, 6-2, 6-3. However, the Bulldogs tied the match up at 2-2 with two-straight singles wins as Jodoin (No. 49) defeated McLean, 6-3, 6-4, and McQueen defeated Boha, 6-4, 6-4.
Seredni's match with Agrawal was not finished due to Guttormsen's game-clinching point.
The Panther's next match will take place on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. as FIU will face the winner of the Georgia/Missouri match. The winner of that match will go onto the National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va. (Feb. 10-13).
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/.
