MIAMI, Fla. – The FIU women's tennis team climbed back behind a trio of consecutive singles win after falling to a 2-1 deficit, as freshman Oyinlomo Quadre secured the clincher in No. 4 singles to lift the Panthers over North Florida (5-3) in their home opener, 4-3.
 

Showed UNF some southern hospitality today 😼 @FIUWTENNIS #PawsUp pic.twitter.com/I6ncutKZlZ

— FIU Athletics (@FIUAthletics) February 11, 2023

 
The win marks its sixth straight over the Ospreys, as FIU (3-1) held the early advantage after winning the doubles point for the second straight match and would prove significant for the Panthers down the stretch.
 
UNF opened with a 6-3 win to start doubles at the No. 1 position, as FIU's 44^th-ranked duo of Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Kamila Umarova slipped to UNF"s Kit Gulihur and Ana Paula Melilo, 3-6.
 
Katerina Mandelikova and Salma Loudili leveled the playing field with a 6-4 defeat of Megan Forster and Kendall Nash in No. 3 doubles, while Yasmine Kabbaj and Oyinlomo Quadre secured the point for FIU upon dropping UNF's Isabel Oliveira and Jasmin Makela, 6-3.
 
The Ospreys then rebounded with the first two singles wins, seeing Kabbaj fall to No. 90 Gulihur, 0-6, 3-6, prior to Umarova slipping at the No. 3 position to Forster, 2-6, 0-6.
 
Trailing 2-1, Ekaterina Khairutdinova rebounded to knot the match up with a straight-set effort over UNF's Annabelle Davis, 6-3, 6-4, as Loudili also rang in a big win to reclaim a 3-2 advantage on the No. 6 court over Makela, 6-3, 6-3.
 
Upon holding the lead, freshman Oyinlomo Quadre rallied in a third set after holding a first-set advantage, finishing UNF's Oliveira to notch the clincher on the No. 4 court, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, to put the nail in the coffin for the 4-2 win.
 
Freshman Katerina Mandelikova finished out her match in No. 5 singles, seeing Mandelikova come up on the short end of a three-set clash to UNF's Melilo, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 3-6, for the 4-3 final.
 
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for its next Top 25 matchup, traveling to face No. 21 UCF next Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. First serve is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
 
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