CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The FIU women's tennis team fell short in its opening match of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday afternoon, falling to No. 10 Miami 4-0 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla. The loss drops FIU to 1-1, while UM moves to 2-0 on the season.
 
The 'Canes hopped out with the early advantage, claiming the doubles point, prior to ringing in the first three singles wins to wrap things up on Saturday.
 
The first doubles result would come at the No. 3 position, seeing the 'Canes come away with a 6-0 victory over Katerina Mandelikova and Kristina Miletic, while Yasmine Kabbaj and Oyinlomo Quadre competed hard in No. 2 doubles prior to coming up short, 3-6, to UM's Alexa Noel and Isabella Pfennig to hand the 'Canes the advantage.
 
Freshman Katerina Mandelikova was the lone Panther on the day to pick up a set victory, as the 'Canes quickly earned wins in No. 2, No. 6 and No. 1 singles to clinch the match at 4-0 and secure the win.
 
Ekaterina Khairutdinova found herself in a ranked matchup with No. 60 Daevenia Achong at No. 2 singles, seeing Achong come away in straight sets, 3-6, 2-6, prior to Kabbaj falling in a hard-fought matchup at the No. 1 position to UM's 14^th-ranked Noel, 6-7 (1), 0-6, for the 3-0 deficit.
 
Salma Loudili also competed hard in No. 6 singles, though, ultimately falling short to UM's Maya Tahan, 3-6, 3-6, to conclude the match at 4-0.   
 
UP NEXT
FIU faces the loser of No. 18 UCLA and No. 24 Iowa State in the ITA Kickoff Consolation match on Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla. First serve is slated for a 10 a.m. start.
 
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