DENTON, Texas (April 22, 2012) --- The FIU women's tennis team fell to the No. 59-ranked North Texas Mean Green, 4-2, in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Finals on Sunday, April 22, at the Waranch Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of North Texas.
North Texas (18-6) took an early 1-0 lead as the Mean Green won the doubles point in two-straight matches. Freshman Karyn Guttormsen and sophomore Giulietta Boha fell to the duo of Kseniya Bardabush and Valentina Starkova, 8-3, while junior Rita Maisak and freshman Sarah McLean dropped an 8-3 set to Barbora Vykydalova and Nadia Lee.
The Panthers tied the match at 1-1, when Maisak made quick work of Bardabush, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 1 position. FIU took a 2-1 lead following a win by senior Lisa Johnson over Starkova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, at No. 3. The victory was the seventh of the season for the San Diego, Calif., native and 38th of her collegiate career.
North Texas responded with two-straight singles victories to take a 3-2 lead. At the No. 5 position, senior Christine Seredni lost to Ilona Serchenko, 6-4, 6-3, while Boha dropped a three-set match to Paula Dinuta, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, at the No. 6.
The Mean Green clinched match and the Sun Belt crown with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win by Irina Paraschiv over Guttormsen at the No. 4 position.
The match marked the eighth-straight finals appearance for the Panthers.
The loss dropped FIU to 33-9 all-time in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as the Panthers made their 12th finals appearance overall (5-7).
With the loss, FIU finished the 2012 campaign with a 7-15 record.
Tennis Match Results
FIU Panthers vs North Texas
Apr 22, 2012 at Denton, Texas
#59 North Texas 4, FIU Panthers 2
Singles competition
1. Maisak, Rita (FIU) def. Kseniya Bardabush (NT) 6-3, 6-3
2. Nadia Lee (NT) vs. McLean, Sarah (FIU) 7-6, 5-6, unfinished
3. Johnson, Lisa (FIU) def. Valentina Starkova (NT) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Irina Paraschiv (NT) def. Guttormsen, Karyn (FIU) 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
5. Ilona Serchenko (NT) def. Seredni, Christine (FIU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Paula Dinuta (NT) def. Boha, Giulietta (FIU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Barbora Vykydalova/Nadia Lee (NT) def. Maisak, Rita/McLean, Sarah (FIU) 8-3
2. Kseniya Bardabush/Valentina Starkova (NT) def. Guttormsen, Karyn/Boha, Giulietta (FIU) 8-3
3. Irina Paraschiv/Paula Dinuta (NT) vs. Johnson, Lisa/Seredni, Christine (FIU) 4-7, unfinished
Match Notes:
FIU Panthers 7-15
North Texas 18-6; National ranking #59
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,5,6,4)
Sun Belt Women's Championship Match
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 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 in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/.
