MIAMI (March 31, 2016) – The No. 46-ranked FIU women's tennis team (14-2) travels to Orlando, Florida, to take on the UCF Knights (10-5) on Friday, April 1. First serve from the UCF Tennis Complex is set for 2 p.m.
The Panthers come into Friday's match having won nine of their last 10, including a 5-2 victory over Brown on Sunday, March 27. The win wrapped up FIU's home portion of the 2016 schedule as the Panthers finished 7-2 at the FIU Tennis Courts this season. FIU enters its match with UCF unbeaten on the road (4-0 away, 3-0 neutral).
Friday's match will mark the 23
rd meeting all-time between FIU and UCF, with the Panthers holding a 17-5 edge in the series history. The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 4-2 win for the Knights on April 3, 2015.
FIU is led by four players with 20-or-more victories on the year, including freshman Maryna Veskler and sophomore
Nerma Caluk, who have totaled 25 wins apiece. Reigning Conference USA Athlete of the Week
Andrea Lazaro comes into Friday's match riding a 15-match winning streak. Lazaro is perfect in dual matches (14-0) and owns a 21-8 mark this season. Junior
Nina Nagode has won four-straight to increase her season win total to 20. Nagode is 10-3 at the No. 2 position and defeated her lone nationally ranked opponents.
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/.
