Pictured: Freshman Carlotta Orlando (Photo Credit: Sam Lewis)
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MIAMI (Jan. 26, 2013) – The FIU women's tennis team (0-1) dropped its season opener to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (1-0), 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at the FIU Tennis Courts.
Despite holding a 3-0 edge, the Panthers were unable to hold off the Eagles as FGCU rattled off four-straight points to hand FIU its first loss of the season.
The Panthers took an early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. The duo of senior Rita Maisak and freshman Aleksandra Trifunovic defeated FGCU's Morgan Bechtel and Bettina Botha, 8-0, while junior Giulietta Boha and freshman Carlotta Orlando downed Johanna Sterkel and Gyanna Mandic, 9-8, to clinch to double's point.
In singles action, Orlando at the No. 3 position gave FIU a 2-0 edge with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Bechtel. Maisak at the No. 2 position extended the Panthers' lead to 3-0 with a 7-6, 6-2 win over Mandic. The Eagles scored their first point when Elizabeth Means defeated freshman Lotte Gras, 6-2, 6-0. FIU's lead was cut to 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-1 loss for Boha to Sterkel. Botha tied the scored for FGCU defeating freshman Michelle Sabado, 6-2, 6-1. The game clinching match came down to the No. 1 poisition. Trifunovic won the first set 7-5. However, Sarah Means took the second set 6-0 and the third set 6-2 for the victory.
FIU will next travel to New Haven, Conn., to take on the Yale Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 1. Game time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. 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 bachelors, masters 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 50,000 students in two campuses 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. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
