Box Score FORT MYERS, Florida (Jan. 30, 2021) - The FIU women's tennis team opened the 2021 slate with a road victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon, as the Panthers downed the Eagles, 4-3.

For full results, click here. 

With the victory, FIU moves to 1-0, while FGCU falls to 0-1 following the early season test. Head coach Katarina Petrovic has now won seven of her last nine season openers and moves to 6-1 overall against FGCU in her nine-year history at FIU.

"It's always tough to play FGCU, especially on the road," Petrovic said following the win. "They are grinders and fight until the last point."

FGCU jumped out to the early lead after winning the doubles point, despite the Panthers winning on court one with the duo of Basak Akbas and Andreea Velcea (6-4). 

"We started a little rusty today without our best doubles player Kamila Umarova, who will return next week," Petrovic said. "Our team responded however and fought hard in singles."

After dropping the doubles point, the Panthers stormed back in singles action to edge the Eagles on four courts. Akbas (6-2, 6-3), Marina Alcaide (6-3, 6-2), Kristina Miletic (6-3, 6-4) and Velcea (6-3, 6-0) all won in straight-sets, with Alcaide's victory serving as the clincher at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. 

UP NEXT
FIU returns home for its first home match of the season on Saturday, Feb. 20. The Panthers will host North Florida at home, with first serve set for Noon.

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