MIAMI (April 1, 2017) – It may have been April Fool's Day, but the FIU women's tennis team (18-1) was not fooling around when it shut out the UCF Knights , 4-0, on Saturday afternoon from the FIU Tennis Courts.
Prior to the match, FIU recognized its lone senior,
Nina Nagode, who played in the final home match of her Panther career.
The Panthers not only recorded their 16
th-straight win, tying the second-longest winning streak in school history (1992), they registered the team's 12th shutout of the season, while ending the 2017 spring season perfect at home (11-0).
The Panthers set the tone in doubles play, winning at the No. 3 and No.1 positions. The duo of
Mina Markovic and
Gabriela Ferreira defeated Nicole Jimenez and Elizabeth Bagerbaseh 6-0, bringing home the first set of the day. Nagode and
Andrea Lazaro clinched the point and gave FIU a 1-0 lead. FIU's top pair defeated Courtney Cesarini and Monica Matias, 7-6 (2).
In singles action, Ferreira gave FIU a 2-0 lead with a quick, 6-1, 6-0, win over Jimenez. With the win, Ferreira improved her record to 9-0 in dual matches in 2017. Grib and Veksler followed that by winning in straight sets. Grib defeated Bagerbaseh, 6-0, 6-1, for the 3-0 advantage. Veksler clinched the match with a, 6-1 6-2, win against Natalia Serrano, improving her overall record to 21-5.
FIU will close out the regular season with a trip to Boca Raton to take Conference USA foe Florida Atlantic on Saturday, April 15. 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/.
