HOUSTON (April 18, 2019) - The FIU women's tennis team took down UTEP in the opening round of the C-USA Championships on Thursday, as the Panthers took a 4-1 decision over the Miners. 

With the victory, the Panthers advance to Friday's quarterfinals as FIU will face fifth-seeded North Texas at 3 p.m. ET. FIU is now 11-7 on the year, while UTEP ends its season with a 7-14 record.

FIU began play at the George R. Brown Tennis Center by picking up the doubles point to jump ahead 1-0. FIU's freshman duo of Basak Akbas and Kamila Umarova defeated their UTEP foes 6-3, before Sandra Bozinovic and Maria Turrillo clinched the point with a 6-2 victory on court two. 

Bozinovic delivered FIU's next point as well, as she earned a dominating straight-set win on court four with a 6-1, 6-0 decision. Umarova made it 3-0 in favor of the Panthers soon after as the freshman took care of her Miner opponent with a 6-1, 6-0 victory as well.

UTEP managed to take a decision on court one to narrow the margin to 3-1, before Paulina Bakaite clinched the 4-1 win for FIU after taking her match 6-3, 6-2 on court five. 

HOW TO WATCH
Live Video/Scoring (for all matches)
Bracket
Lineups
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SOCIAL MEDIA 
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUwomenstennis on Instagram and @FIUWTennis on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
 

Match Notes:
UTEP 7-14
FIU Panthers 11-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,1,5)
2019 C-USA Championship
Singles competition
1. Kirsten Prelle (UTEP) def. Maryna Veksler (FIU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Kamila Umarova (FIU) def. Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 6-1, 6-0
3. Basak Akbas (FIU) vs. Kathleen Percegona (UTEP) 6-1, 5-4, unfinished
4. Sandra Bozinovic (FIU) def. Yvette Van Oijen (UTEP) 6-1, 6-0
5. Paulina Bakaite (FIU) def. Rine Nozaki (UTEP) 6-3, 6-2
6. Maria Turrillo (FIU) vs. Milena Baigorria (UTEP) 1-6, 4-3, unfinished 
Doubles competition
1. Basak Akbas/ Kamila Umarova (FIU) def. Kirsten Prelle/Vanessa Valdez (UTEP) 6-3
2. Sandra Bozinovic/ Maria Turrillo (FIU) def. Kathleen Percegona/Yvette van Oijen (UTEP) 6-2
3. Maryna Veksler/ Paulina Bakaite (FIU) vs. Rine Nozaki/Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 5-3, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
UTEP 7-14
FIU Panthers 11-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,1,5)
2019 C-USA Championship