GAINESVILLE, Fla. — FIU's tennis program battled to a 4-2 defeat against No. 8 Florida to open the ITA Kick-Off on Saturday. 

The Panthers (1-2) dropped the doubles point to Florida (2-0), but regained momentum in singles with first-set victories at the top four spots. 

Oyinlomo Quadre earned a match victory at the No. 1 singles slot by scores of 6-3, 6-0 to get FIU on the board. Ekaterina Khairutdinova notched the Panthers' second point with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 2.

FIU's No. 3 and No. 4 slots featured Valery Gynina and Katerina Mandelikova, respectively, and they both earned victories in the opening frame. The Gators earned wins at Nos. 5 and 6 while those matches progressed, pushing the score to 3-2 in UF's favor. 

Gynina battled in sets two and three, but ultimately came away with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6 defeat, which clinched the match for the Gators. Mandelikova dropped set two 7-5 after winning the first 6-4, but her match went unfinished after the clinch. 

UP NEXT

FIU takes on Wake Forest at 11 a.m. on Sunday to conclude its weekend at the ITA Kick-Off.