MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The No. 2 seed FIU women's tennis team wasted little time in posting a convincing 4-0 victory over No. 10 seed North Texas in its quarterfinal match at the 2022 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championships on Friday afternoon on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
 
With the victory, the Panthers advance to Saturday's Conference USA Semifinals, where they will battle the winner of the quarterfinal match currently taking place between No. 3 Charlotte and No. 11 Marshall.
 
FIU has now advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Championship in five of the last six seasons in which the championship has been played.  The Panthers last won the league title in 2018.  FIU earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in both 2018 and 2021.
 
The Panthers opened play on Friday vs. North Texas by claiming the doubles point with victories in two of the three tandem matches. 
 
The No. 3 pairing of Yasmine Kabbaj and Basak Akbas posted a 6-3 victory before the No. 1 tandem of Kamila Umarova and Andjela Skrobonja tabbed a 7-6 (7-4) triumph over UNT's Lucie Devier and Maria Ponomareva, who entered the match ranked No. 85 nationally. 
 
The combination of Kabbaj and Akbas has posted a perfect 6-0 mark in doubles play in 2022.
 
FIU kept control of the match early on in singles action as Kabbaj posted an easy 6-3, 6-1 win in the No. 1 slot and Kristina Miletic followed suit at No. 4 with a 6-1, 6-2 straight set win to put the Panthers ahead 3-0.
 
Umarova clinched the match and sent FIU into the semifinal round with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win at No. 2 over UNT's Jasmine Adams.  The win marked Umarova's 16^th straight dual win and improved her overall record to 20-2 on the season.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will look to clinch a place in the 2022 Conference USA Championship match when they battle the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 3 Charlotte and No. 11 Marshall on Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m. ET in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
 
10-seed North Texas vs 2-seed FIU
4/22/2022 at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
(Adams Tennis Complex)
#41 2-seed FIU 4, 10-seed North Texas 0
 
Singles competition
1. Yasmine Kabbaj (FIU) def. Lucie Devier (UNT) 6-3, 6-1
2. Kamila Umarova (FIU) def. Jasmine Adams (UNT) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Andjela Skrobonja (FIU) vs. Maria Ponomareva (UNT) 6-4, 5-4, unfinished
4. Kristina Miletic (FIU) def. Liisa Vehvilainen (UNT) 6-1, 6-2
5. Andreea Velcea (FIU) vs. Saki Oyama (UNT) 6-3, 4-6, unfinished
6. Basak Akbas (FIU) vs. Kexuan Zhou (UNT) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. Kamila Umarova/Andjela Skrobonja (FIU) def. #85 Lucie Devier/Maria Ponomareva (UNT) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Saki Oyama/Liisa Vehvilainen (UNT) def. Andreea Velcea/Kristina Miletic (FIU) 6-2
3. Yasmine Kabbaj/Basak Akbas (FIU) def. Jasmine Adams/Sophia Hummel (UNT) 6-3
 
Match Notes:
10-seed North Texas 9-12
2-seed FIU 17-3; National ranking #41
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,2)
2022 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship - Quarterfinals
Official: Ted Mason T-3:00