DENTON, Texas (Feb. 26, 2012) --- The FIU women's tennis team (2-9) dropped a 4-3 decision to the No. 60-ranked North Texas Mean Green (8-4) on Sunday, Feb. 26, in Denton, Texas.
The Panthers began the contest with a 1-0 lead, taking 2-of-3 doubles matches. The duo of Giulietta Boha and Karyn Guttormsen defeated Valentina Starkova and Kseniya Bardabush, 9-7, and the team of Christine Seredni and Lisa Johnson downed Irina Paraschiv and Franzi Sprinkmeyer, 8-6. Rita Maisak and Sarah McLean fell to Nadia Lee and Barbora Vykydalova, 8-2.
North Texas responded with two-straight singles points as Paula Dinuta defeated Boha, 6-1, 6-1, and Paraschiv defeated Seredni, 6-1, 6-1. Maisak made the contest all square at 2-2 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Bardabush. Lee gave the Mean Green a 3-2 advantage defeating McLean, 6-3, 6-3. North Texas clinched the match following a 6-2, 7-6 loss for Johnson to Starkova. Guttormsen made the final score 4-3 with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ilona Serchenko.
The Panthers will play their first home match of the season, hosting Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, March 7. The match is slated for 1:00 p.m.
#60 North Texas 4, FIU 3
Feb 26, 2012 at Denton, Texas (Waranch Tennis Complex)
Single Competition
1. Rita Maisak (FIU) def. Kseniya Bardabush (NT), 6-3, 7-5
2. Nadia Lee (NT) def. Sarah McLean (FIU), 6-3, 6-3
3. Valentina Starkova (NT) def. Lisa Johnson (FIU), 6-2, 7-6
4. Karyn Guttormsen (FIU) def. Ilona Serchenko (NT), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. Irina Paraschiv (NT) def. Christine Seredni (FIU), 6-1, 6-1
6. Paula Dinuta (NT) def. Giulietta Boha (FIU), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. Nadia Lee/Barbora Vykydalova (NT) def. Rita Maisak/Sarah McLean (FIU), 8-2
2. Giulietta Boha/Karyn Guttormsen (FIU) def. Valentina Starkova/ Kseniya Bardabush (NT), 9-7
3. Christine Seredni/Lisa Johnson (FIU) def. Irina Paraschiv/Franzi Sprinkmeyer (NT), 8-6
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/.
