Tennis sweeps second weekend

Reinaldo Llerena/ Staff Writer

The FIU women’s tennis team defeated Georgia State University and George Washington University the weekend of Feb. 19-21 in Atlanta and swept their second weekend in a row.

The Panthers defeated the Georgia State Panthers, who were ranked at No. 67 on the ITA rankings, 5-2 on Friday, Feb. 19. The following day, the FIU Panthers swept the George Washington Colonials, 7-0, to complete their second weekend sweep of the season.

With the sweep over the weekend, the Panthers are off to their best start since the 2001 season. In that season, the Panthers finished 23-3 with a final ITA ranking of No. 24 according to fiusports.com.

In the match against Georgia State, the Panthers won two out of three doubles matches to claim the doubles point.

Freshman Maryna Veksler and junior Nina Nagode won their fourth-straight doubles match. The duo defeated Tarani Kamoe and Linn Timmermann of Georgia State, 6-3. Redshirt-freshman Andrea Lazaro and senior Carlotta Orlando won their doubles match and secured the doubles point for FIU with a 6-3 win over Niri Rasolomalala and Kristen Rehse of Georgia State.

In singles play, the Panthers picked up four points against Georgia State.

Veksler defeated Timmermann in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to put FIU up 2-0. Orlando beat Lara Vovk and Lazaro defeated Rasolomalala, both in straight sets, to clinch the match for the Panthers, 4-0. Sophomore Nerma Caluk won FIU’s fourth point when she beat Chiara Volejnicek in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.

A day after defeating Georgia State, the Panthers continued their hot streak against George Washington, sweeping the Colonials, 7-0.

The duo of Veksler and Nagode won their fifth-straight doubles match, defeating Allison Hansen and Taylor Nederlander, 6-2. The Panthers claimed the doubles point when Orlando and Lazaro defeated Sara Grubac and Marie-Louise Decamps, 6-3.

The Panthers continued their dominant play heading into singles matches.

Veksler came back from an 8-4 deficit in the final set tiebreaker to win, 7-5, 1-6, 10-8, over Teodora Radosavljevic. The win improved Veksler’s record to 20-4 on the year.

Nagode defeated Lana Robins in straight sets, 6-2, 2-2 (ret.), to claim the Panther’s third point of the match. Orlando beat Grubac, also in straight sets, to clinch the weekend sweep in Atlanta.

Caluk added to the Panther’s point total when she claimed her 17th win of the season, defeating Nederlander in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2. Senior Kaitlin Brozovich sealed the 7-0 victory when she defeated Victoria Krogan, 6-4, 6-1.

According to fiusports.com, the win over the Colonials was the third 7-0 sweep of an opponent this season and the fourth shutout of the 2016 season.

FIU improved to 4-3 all-time versus Georgia State and improved to 2-0 all-time versus the Colonials.

The Panthers will return home on Friday, Feb. 26 to face the Eastern Michigan Eagles. First serve from the FIU Tennis Courts is set for 1 p.m.