DALLAS, Texas – The No. 38 FIU women's tennis team earned its second-ever Conference USA title in program history and first since 2018 on Sunday afternoon after dropping No. 58 Rice, 4-1, in the C-USA Championship match at SMU's Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas, Texas. The Panthers ran the table as the top seed in at the C-USA Championship, earning the C-USA auto bid and their 12
th appearance in program history at the upcoming NCAA Championships.
The Panthers move to 18-4 on the season, while also marking their third straight NCAA Championship appearance in as many seasons.
FIU avenged its loss to the Owls from April 2
nd, opening with a pair of doubles victories to snatch the doubles point that'd give the Panthers a crucial cushion entering singles action.
No. 3 duo of
Salma Loudili and
Katerina Mandelikova struck first, adding their fourth straight and 16
th win of the season together with a big 6-3 win over Rice's Orav and Schwartzman.
No. 75
Yasmine Kabbaj and
Oyinlomo Quadre led on the No. 2 court, 5-4, however, No. 79
Ekaterina Khairutdinova and
Kamila Umarova would clinch at the top spot before the finish upon a 6-4 win over Rice's Jardi and Zipoli to swing the point in FIU's favor for their ninth win of the year heading into singles.
FIU carried the momentum into singles, tallying first-set wins on four courts before
Yasmine Kabbaj dialed in the first win on No. 1 singles. Kabbaj dropped Zipoli in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, to set the tone, though, Rice would collect a win at No. 2 singles to trail by just a point, 2-1.
Nonetheless,
Katerina Mandelikova collected a bounce-back win for the Panthers, digging deep in the second set to come away over Rice's Budin, 6-3, 6-4, to extend a 3-1 margin up a set at No. 6 singles and in a third set at No. 4 singles.
Oyinlomo Quadre would put the nail in the coffin shortly after, as the freshman phenom tallied her 13
th straight singles win to clinch FIU's the victroy with a 6-3, 7-5, win over Rice's Jardi and see the Panthers storm the court to celebrate their first title since 2018.
Quadre moves to a 12-1 mark at the No. 3 position on the season, as the first year continues to pace the squad with a team-best 15 dual singles win.
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for the NCAA Championship, as the NCAA Women's Tennis Selection Show is set for Monday, May 1, while the first and second rounds are set for May 5-6 at regional campus sites. The NCAA Champoinship will then continue from May 17-27 at the USTA National Campus (Collegiate Center) in Orlando, Fla.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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@FIUWTENNIS), and Facebook (
Facebook.com\FIUWTN) for all the latest Women's Tennis news.
General athletic news can also be found at
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