IRVING, Texas (April 16, 2015) – The No. 5-seeded FIU women's tennis team (12-7) downed the No. 12-seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-12), 4-0, in the first round of the 2015 Conference USA Tennis Championships in Houston, Texas
The Panthers jumped out to a 1-0 lead, taking the doubles portion of the match. FIU swept all three doubles matches as the No. 85-ranked duo of senior
Yana Koroleva and sophomore
Nina Nagode defeated Alex Kitchen and Carolin Drescher, 8-4, the tandem of junior
Carlotta Orlando and sophomore
Valentina Briceno downed Elena Roca and Kathrin Waidner, 8-4, and the team of freshman
Nerma Caluk and junior
Kaitlin Brozovich topped Karina Gurgenyan and Claudia Castella, 8-1.
In singles play, FIU extended its lead to 2-0 following a straight-set victory for Orlando at the No. 2 positon. The Trieste, Italy, native made quick work of Castella, 6-2, 6-1. Koroleva gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Drescher at the No. 1 spot. Nagode clinched the match with a 6-2, 7-6 win over Kitchen at the No. 3 position.
FIU will next take on the winner of the Middle Tennessee-WKU match in second-round action. The match is slated for 3 p.m. on Friday.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUWTennis) for all the latest FIU women's tennis news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
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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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium. About FIU:
Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that 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 contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
