LYNCHBURG, Va. — FIU's women's tennis program is on the brink of a three-peat after a 4-0 sweep of host-Liberty on Friday afternoon in the Conference USA (CUSA) Championships Semifinal. 

The 55th-ranked Panthers downed the fifth-seeded Flames on their home courts with a win in doubles and victories in the first three singles matches to complete. Ekaterina Khairutdinova produced two victories for FIU on the day, notching a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles with teammate Valery Gynina before a dominating display with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles. Oyinlomo Quadre provided the match-clincher for the Panthers, battling back at No. 2 singles for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win. 

In doubles, Quadre and Katerina Mandelikova started off the match with a 6-3 win at the top flight. Gynina and Khairutdinova provided the doubles' clinch and a 1-0 lead for the Panthers with a 6-2 win just minutes later. 

Aleksandra Simeva put FIU ahead 3-0 after Khairutdinova's singles win with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph at No. 6. Valery Gynina and Quadre were racing to the end to provide the clinching win for the Panthers as Gynina led the third set 5-1 before play was halted. 

The win extends FIU's CUSA Championships win streak to eight in-a-row, having last been defeated at the 2022 Tournament. 

UP NEXT

Top-seeded FIU will take on third-seeded Louisiana Tech at 10 a.m. tomorrow in a quest for its third-consecutive CUSA Championship. Live stats will be available via fiusports.com/TennisStats and live video will be aired on ESPN+. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

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