MIAMI (Feb. 18, 2017) – The FIU women's tennis team (5-1) earned its third-straight victory, blanking Conference USA foe Middle Tennessee (4-6), 7-0, on Saturday afternoon from the FIU Tennis Courts.
The win marked the Panthers' 10
th-straight versus the Blue Raiders, dating back to 2003.
FIU took a 1-0 lead following doubles action as
Andrea Lazaro and
Nina Nagode defeated Josefina Zehnder and Sarah Sediri, 6-2, and
Gabriela Ferreira and
Mina Markovic topped Luisa Zirilli and Holly Horsfall, 6-2.
Lazaro, ranked No. 29 in the latest Oracle/ITA Women's Singles Rankings, won her fifth-straight with a 6-0, 6-3 decision over Zehnder, giving FIU a 2-0 advantage. The victory improved the Barcelona, Spain, native to 11-3 overall on the year and 22-1 all-time in dual matches. The Panthers took a 3-0 lead following a win by
Maryna Veksler, who downed Constanza Magazzini, 6-2, 6-1. The win was Veksler's team-leading 12
th of the season.
FIU clinched the match, 4-0, when Nagode earned her first dual victory of the season, defeating Marta Peris Herrero, 6-3, 6-2. The Panthers tacked on three more points for the 7-0 sweep as
Nerma Caluk defeated Sediri, 6-1, 6-4, Markovic defeated Lidia Burrows and
Ulyana Grib defeated Zirilli, 5-7, 6-4, 10-3.
The Panthers will next host the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Friday, Feb. 24. First serve is set for 1:00 p.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/.
