MIAMI (Oct. 3, 2019) - The FIU women's tennis team opens fall play on Oct. 4-6, as the Panthers compete at the Bedford Cup starting this Friday.

FIU makes its seventh-straight appearance in the Bedford Cup (USTA tournament). The Panthers will be one of seven teams making the trip to Fort Myers, with Florida Atlantic, Stetson, UCF, Florida, North Florida, South Florida and host Florida Gulf Coast all competing at the FGCU Tennis Complex this weekend. 

"I'm very excited to see all the hard work we've been putting in the past few weeks." said Head Coach Katarina Petrovic, "Fall competition is good for college tennis to determine doubles combinations and to get ready for the season. I am looking forward to seeing our new Panthers in competition this weekend." 

FIU had a very successful time at the Bedford Cup last season, as the Panthers walked away with several awards. Kamila Umarova and Maryna Veksler won the No. 1 flight doubles bracket, while Basak Akbas took home the No. 2 flight singles trophy.

WHAT RETURNS
FIU is led by senior Maria Turrillo, junior Sandra Bozinovic and the sophomore duo of Umarova and Akbas. The veteran group led the Panthers to an 11-8 record last season and were 4-1 overall in conference play. FIU built a nine-match win streak during the year, on its way to a quarterfinal appearance at the C-USA Championships.

WHAT'S NEW
The Panthers welcome a crop of four newcomers ahead of the 2019-20 season. Marina Alcaide, a junior transfer from VCU, along with three new freshmen; Ashley Vielma, Francisca Vergara and Kristina Miletic will join the Blue & Gold this season.
 

Tournament Format:

• Doubles play first each day at 8:00 am; six-game set, no ad scoring, with seven point TB at 6-6
• First match loser consolation for doubles, six-game no ad set
• Three 16-player draws with a first round consolation for singles and two 16-team draws for doubles. Players/teams will be assigned to a draw based on a combination of position played and UTR.
• Players guaranteed at least two singles and two doubles matches
• Friday order of play - one doubles, two singles
• Saturday - two doubles, one singles, one additional singles if requested. On Sunday, matches will be done around noon.

 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUWomensTennis on Instagram and @FIUWomensTennis on Twitter and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.