Brian Olmo | Sports Director
No. 38 FIU women’s tennis ends the regular season with a statement win over the FAU Owls, 6-1, on April 7 at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center in Boca Raton, Fla.
The Panthers finish 15-4 overall, 3-1 in the conference and 9-0 at home. Under head coach Katarina Petrovic, FIU has won 15 or more games in a season for the fifth time.
Junior Salma Loudili and freshman Katerina Mandelikova got the day started for FIU in doubles action, taking down senior Katerina Filip and redshirt sophomore Amber McGinnis with ease, 6-2.
FAU countered as freshman Carla Galmiche and senior Martina Kudelova struck down graduate Kamila Umarova and freshman Ekaterina Khairutdinova in No. 1 doubles 6-3.
With the doubles point on the line, sophomore Yasmine Kabbaj and freshman Oyinlomo Quadre delivered a clutch 6-3 victory over FAU’s sophomore duo of Victoria O’Hayon and Millie-Mae Matthews.
The Owls then found themselves on the receiving end of a furious beatdown in singles play, losing three straight.
Kabbaj outplayed Kudelova at No. 1 singles, dropping her 6-2, 6-3. The win is Kabbaj’s fourth in the past five matches.
Mandelikova followed up with another demoralizing blow for FAU, winning her matchup to give FIU a 3-0 advantage. Umarova then decided the match with a resounding 6-1, 6-1 win over McGinnis at No. 4 singles.
The rest of the match saw Quadre notch her 10th straight victory over O’Hayon, Loudili come out on top against Galmiche and Khairutdinova fall to Filip in a super tiebreaker, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8.
FIU now awaits its seeding for the Conference USA Championships, which will take place from April 20-23 in Denton, Texas.
Singles competition
1. Yasmine Kabbaj (FIU) def. Kudelova, Martina (FAU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Filip, Katerina (FAU) def. Ekate Khairutdinova (FIU) 6-3, 2-6, 10-8
3. Oyinlomo Quadre (FIU) def. Gomez O’Hayon, Vic. (FAU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Kamila Umarova (FIU) def. McGinnis, Amber (FAU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Katerina Mandelikova (FIU) def. Matthews, Millie-Mae (FAU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Salma Loudili (FIU) def. Galmiche, Carla (FAU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 1,5,4,3,6,2
Doubles competition
1. Galmiche, Carla/Kudelova, Martina (FAU) def. Ekate Khairutdinova/Kamila Umarova (FIU) 6-3
2. Yasmine Kabbaj/Oyinlomo Quadre (FIU) def. Gomez O’Hayon, Vic./Matthews, Millie-Mae (FAU) 6-3
3. Salma Loudili/Katerina Mandelikova (FIU) def. Filip, Katerina/McGinnis, Amber (FAU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Follow Brian Olmo on Twitter at @Brian_Olmo11
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