Women's Tennis Blasts South Carolina State, 7-0

Friday, February 22

Jacksonville, Fla.

11 a.m.

University of North Florida

South Carolina State

Photo by: Todd Drexler

2/22/2013 4:44:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: UNF Athletics

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida women's tennis team dropped just one set across all its matches en route to a 7-0 victory over South Carolina State on Friday afternoon at UNF Tennis Complex.

The Ospreys, trying out a new doubles lineup for the first time this season, began the day with a sweep of all three doubles matches. Seniors Lorena Aviles and Melanie Aguirre got things started by improving their record at the No. 1 spot to 4-1 on the year with an 8-3 win over Maria Craciun and Klara Dohnalova.

Sophomore Marina Cunningham and freshman Mariella Calderon, playing together for the first time, then clinched the doubles point for the Ospreys with an 8-3 victory over Victoriia Khatcei and Laura Bosneag at No. 3. Junior Simona Weymar and sophomore Rebeca Pereira proceded to seal the doubles sweep with an 8-4 win at No. 2 over Kateryna Nakonechna and Nataliya Dyatlova.

"I'm very happy with how today's match went," Head Coach Audra Cohen said. "We made a few changes at doubles and now I think we're very tough at all three positions."

In singles, the Ospreys got a second point from Weymar when Nakonechna, her opponent at No. 2, was forced to retire due to injury. UNF quickly put the match out of reach for the Cougars, as Aguirre (6-1, 6-1) and Pereira (6-2, 6-4) each earned straight-set victories, at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, to give the Ospreys an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

Cunningham made the score 5-0 when she battled through a hard-fought second set to grab a win over Barborikova at No. 3, 6-0, 6-4. The victory raised Cunningham's record at the No. 3 spot to 4-1 on the year. Aviles also came through in a close match, besting Craciun at No. 1, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2. She is now 5-1 at the top spot for the Ospreys.

Sophomore Taylor Hollander sealed the shutout for UNF, battling back from a set down to win at No. 6, 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6) over Bozneag to give the Ospreys the 7-0 win.

With the victory, the Ospreys are now 4-2 on the year, including a 3-1 mark at home. The Cougars drop to 2-2 with the loss.

"Overall, this match was very good for us," Cohen said. "We stepped up on every court in close matches and closed out sets. This shows that we're getting better at maintaining our composure in big moments. We're looking forward to tomorrow's match against a good UCF team that is coming off a decisive win yesterday."

Tomorrow's match against UCF will begin at 12 p.m. at the UNF Tennis Complex. Admission is free to the public.

Complete Results

North Florida 7, SC State 0

Singles competition

1. Lorena Aviles (UNF) def. CRACIUN,Maria (SCSU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-2

2. Simona Weymar (UNF) def. NAKONECHNA,Kateryna (SCSU) 3-0, retired

3. Marina Cunningham (UNF) def. BARBORIKOVA,Katarina (SCSU) 6-0, 6-4

4. Melanie Aguirre (UNF) def. DOHNALOVA,Klara (SCSU) 6-1, 6-1

5. Rebeca Pereira (UNF) def. KHATCEI,Victoriia (SCSU) 6-2, 6-4

6. Taylor Hollander (UNF) def. BOSNEAG,Laura (SCSU) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)

Doubles competition

1. Lorena Aviles/Melanie Aguirre (UNF) def. CRACIUN,Maria/DOHNALOVA,Klara (SCSU) 8-3

2. Simona Weymar/Rebeca Pereira (UNF) def. NAKONECHNA,Kateryna/DYATLOVA,Nataliya (SCSU) 8-4

3. Marina Cunningham/Mariella Calderon (UNF) def. KHATCEI,Victoriia/BOSNEAG,Laura (SCSU) 8-3