Panthers’ tennis falls to UCF in opening round of NCAA Tournament

CORAL GABLES, FL - MAY 11: FIU's Ulyana Grib plays during a first round NCAA Team tennis Championship match between the University of Central Florida and Florida International University on May 11, 2018 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, Coral Gables, Florida. UCF defeated FIU 4-3. (Photo courtesy of FIU Athletics)

By Cristhian Plasencia/Asst. Sports Director

 

The FIU tennis team were eliminated in Round 64 of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship by UCF, 4-3, last Friday at University of Miami’s Neil Schiff Tennis Center.

“I’m very happy that we were able to play in the NCAA Tournament. My seniors fought and gave everything out on the court,” said Coach Katarina Petrovic. “It is very tough for Maryna [Veksler] to pull out the same result as she did in the final match of the conference tournament.”

UCF started off strong during the single first set of doubles. FIU’s pair – Ulyana Grib and Maryna Veksler struggled to get going early on, as the Knight’s Ksenia Kuznetsova and Maria Martinez won the first doubles match, 6-3.

“We started a bit slow in the doubles. My players are not used to playing in the NCAA, as they’ve competed in this tournament before,” said Petrovic.
Besides the nerves of her teams, Petrovic said matches were close, but shot selection late on sets made the difference.

FIU were favorites, as Kuznetsova and Martinez are ranked 61 in the NCAA; meanwhile Grib and Veksler were ranked 24th in the nation.

The Knights took a second doubles match, 6-4, with Monica Matias and Natalia Serrano victory over the Panther’s Sandra Bozinovic and Mina Markovic pair.

FIU’s standout senior, Andrea Lazaro, came out the gate fire on all cylinders. Teamed up with Nerma Caluk, Lazaro started aggressively in doubles versus Siliva Bordes and Rebeka Stomar.

Caluk and Lazaro were up 5-3, but the match did not continue, as UCF won two doubles matches out of three.

CORAL GABLES, FL – MAY 11: FIU’s Andrea Lazaro plays during a first round NCAA Team tennis Championship match between the University of Central Florida and Florida International University on May 11, 2018 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, Coral Gables, Florida. UCF defeated FIU 4-3. (Photo courtesy of FIU Athletics“Andrea to maintain her high level and win many matches, it is amazing,” said Petrovic. 

Going into singles, FIU found themselves down 0-1 to their state rivals. However, the team felt confident in advancing in the tournament, as Lazaro looked her best in doubles.

“Beginings are always tough, especially when playing against players that have the same game plan as you do,” said Lazaro. “I just try to stay low at my backend and play long points.”

The Panthers grabbed momentum at the beginning of singles play. FIU’s Markovic took the first singles match, defeating Bordes in the first two sets: 6-1, 6-2.

UCF regained momentum as they won the two matches.

Rebeka Stolmar won two straight sets (6-1, 7-5) over Bozinovic, and the Knights’ Serrano defeated Caluk (6-3, 7-5).

Down 1-3, FIU needed to win the match to stay alive in contention of advancing to the next round. Lazaro defeated Martinez 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

Ranked No. 13th in the nation, she was the only player ranked in singles.
FIU grabbed momentum as they won the first two matches in singles.

Ulyana Grib defeated Ksenia Kuznetsova (7-6 (10-8), 6-3).

The Panthers tied the score, 3-3. It went down to a finale between Monica Matias and Maryna Veksler.

Court four was crowded with all spectators and teammates from both sides. The first set was a thriller, as Matias won it, 7-6. Veksler pushed the match to a third set, with a 7-4 win in the second set, Matias took the game winning the last set, 6-4.

“We were very excited to be here, at home with our crowd. It was really nice to have support,” said Lazaro. “I have to keep working hard every day and maintain. I hope to win the NCAA Championship’s individual competition.”

The FIU tennis team journey in the NCAA Tournament ended, but history was made by winning their first Conference USA Tennis Championship. They finished their season with a 17-3 overall record and ranked No. 39 in the NCAA.

Lazaro will compete in the 2018 Division I Women’s Tennis Championship’s individual draw, and the pair Grib and Veksler were selected to play in doubles. The singles and doubles competition will start on May 23-28 at Wake Forest.

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