ORLANDO, Fla. (April 1, 2016) – Sophomore Nerma Caluk's 26^th victory of the season led to FIU's 15^th win on the year as the women's tennis team (15-2) defeated UCF (10-6), 4-3, on Friday afternoon from the UCF Tennis Complex.
 
The win marked the Panthers' eighth win away from the FIU Tennis Courts (8-0).
 
UCF jumped out to a 1-0 lead as FIU dropped the doubles point. The team of freshman Maryna Veksler and junior Nina Nagode dropped a 6-2 decision to Natalia Serrano and Sofia Baptista. FIU drew even with the Knights as senior Carlotta Orlando and redshirt freshman Andrea Lazaro defeated Emilia Granstrom and Caroline Eberhart, 6-3. However, UCF took the last doubles contest and the doubles point as Monica Matias and Cortney Cesarini defeated Caluk and senior Kaitlin Brozovich, 6-3.
 
The Knights took a 2-0 lead to start singles play as Serrano defeated Brozovich, 6-0, 6-1. FIU got on the board as Lazaro picked up her 16^th-straight win with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Granstrom. The Panthers tied the match at 2-2 following a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win for Orlando over Cesarini. Nagode gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead, defeating Baptista, 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-2.
 
The Knights tied the match, 3-3, when Veksler fell to Eberhart, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4. However, Caluk's match-clinching points with a win over Matias, 7-5, 0-6, 7-5, gave the Panthers the 4-3 victory. 
 
FIU will stay in Orlando and take on conference foe UAB on Saturday from the UCF Tennis Complex. First serve is set for 10:00 a.m. 
 
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/.