JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After posting a road and a home win to open the season, the University of North Florida women's tennis team kept rolling to a perfect 3-0 start on Saturday with a 6-1 win against in-state foe Florida A&M.
UNF (3-0) captured the doubles point to get things started but felt the pressure and had to make a comeback run to do so. FAMU (1-4) squeezed out a win at the No. 1 doubles slot when Rachel Pyle and Lactreece Olagbegi moved past freshman Aline Berkenbrock and junior Rachel Castro 10-5 in the super tiebreaker an posting 8-7 set score. "We came out a little tight today in our doubles and our intensity was lacking in the beginning," UNF head coach Rodrigo Puebla said. "We finally got a little looser and we started to find our game."
Senior Ina Durcakova and freshman Nikita van Lierop eased to an 8-1 win in the No. 2 doubles position and sophomores Lauren Holton and Victoria Krook grabbed an 8-4 win in the final doubles match to give the Lady Ospreys the edge heading into singles action. "FAMU played a high level of tennis, and they came out strong and gave us a tough battle," Puebla said. "After doubles all the girls realized they needed to play with more aggression and intensity, and they turned things around."
The Rattlers' only point of the match came in the top spot of singles play. Pyle and Berkenbrock went into a first-set tiebreaker, where Pyle slipped by before winning a competitive second set, 7-5.
Castro was a No. 2 singles winner against Olagbegi (6-2, 6-0) and paved the way for UNF in individual action. The Lady Ospreys also posted straight-set wins in the rest of singles play, highlighted by a 6-1, 6-2 win for van Lierop and a 6-3, 6-4 win for Durcakova at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions, respectively.
"Raquel is really starting to reach the level of play she is capable of reaching," Puebla said. "Ina and Nikky (van Lierop) are really stepping up to the occasion and playing at the level they need to play to be successful this season."
"We have a tough road ahead of us, playing Troy, Alabama-Birmingham and Samford," Puebla said. "But if we continue improving our level of play and our confidence, we can pick up some good wins."
Play continues for the Lady Ospreys at home next weekend when UNF plays host to Troy at the UNF Tennis Complex.
