April 9, 2006

Results

TROY, Ala. - The North Florida women's tennis team dropped a close match to Troy on Sunday afternoon at the Lunsford Tennis Center, losing 4-3 to end its 2006 season.

The Lady Ospreys (14-7) won 12 of their final 15 matches in their inaugural Division I season, but couldn't rally against the Trojans (13-4), who were ranked as high as 71st nationally earlier in the season.

After being swept in doubles play, UNF got singles wins from Katja Brandt (6-0, 5-7, 6-2) at No. 4, Lauren Cockbill (6-3, 6-4) at No. 5 and Robin Rogers (6-4, 6-2) at No. 6, but they couldn't sneak another win out of the top three positions.

Troy's Claudia Strauss posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles, snapping a 13-match winning streak by UNF's Florencia Torres.

"The girls played hard against a very tough opponent," UNF head coach Igal Buberman said. "After losing the doubles point, we got a lot of production from the bottom of our lineup but couldn't get a win at the top. We hate to see the season end with a loss, but a lot of these players will be back next year. I was pleased with our performance this season and know that even brighter days are ahead."

Sunday's match was the last at UNF for Brandt - the team's lone senior - who won 10 of her final 11 matches this season to finish with a 10-7 singles mark.

Carolina de Melo won five consecutive singles matches to end the season, while freshman Lauren Cockbill won 10 straight. Cockbill - who will return to her native England and not rejoin the team in 2007 - led the squad with 19 singles victories (19-10), including a 14-6 record in dual play this spring.