Women's Tennis Edged by UCF

Saturday, February 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

12 p.m.

University of North Florida

UCF

Photo by: Todd Drexler

2/23/2013 8:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: UNF Athletics

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida women's tennis team won a trio of straight-set singles matches, but fell to UCF, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at UNF Tennis Complex.

"Today's match was hard-fought and I'm happy with how well the girls competed on every court," Head Coach Audra Cohen said. "We're going to focus on the positives coming out of ths match and keep our heads up, because we know there are more tough battles ahead."

The day began well for the Ospreys, as junior Simona Weymar and sophomore Rebeca Pereira won their second No. 2 doubles match in as many days, taking an 8-1 victory over Courtney Griffith and Caroline Eberhart in dominant fashion. However, UCF claimed the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions to put UNF in a 1-0 hole heading into singles play.

The Ospreys battled hard in singles, losing just one match in straight sets on the day. Weymar earned her fifth win of the season at No. 2, taking down Jenna Doerfler, 6-2, 6-3, while senior Melanie Aguirre grabbed her third consecutive victory at No. 4, triumphing over Griffith in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Aguirre has yet to drop a set in her three matches at No. 4 for the Ospreys.

Sophomore Taylor Hollander grabbed her fourth straight singles win for UNF, downing Sofia Baptista, 7-5, 6-3, to bring her record in dual matches to 5-1.

"I'm especially proud of Taylor for stepping up at No. 6 and securing an important match for us at the time," Cohen said. "We could have played better tennis at a few positions, but all in all, we competed with heart and we're going to learn a lot from today."

Of the three singles losses on the day, UNF forced two of them into the third set. Both Pereira (No. 5) and sophomore Marina Cunningham (No. 3) battled back from an early one-set deficit before ultimately falling in the deciding set.

The defeat drops UNF to 4-3, while UCF now stands at 7-3.

The Ospreys will complete their three-match weekend on Sunday morning, as they play host to South Alabama in a match beginning at 11 a.m. Admission to the match is free.

Complete Results

UCF 4, North Florida 3

Singles competition

1. Genevieve Lorbergs (UCF) def. Lorena Aviles (UNF) 7-5, 6-3

2. Simona Weymar (UNF) def. Jenna Doerfler (UCF) 6-2, 6-3

3. Josephine Haraldson (UCF) def. Marina Cunningham (UNF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

4. Melanie Aguirre (UNF) def. Courtney Griffith (UCF) 6-1, 6-2

5. Caroline Eberhart (UCF) def. Rebeca Pereira (UNF) 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4

6. Taylor Hollander (UNF) def. Sofia Baptista (UCF) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. Genevieve Lorbergs/Josephine Haraldson (UCF) def. Lorena Aviles/Melanie Aguirre (UNF) 8-6

2. Simona Weymar/Rebeca Pereira (UNF) def. Courtney Griffith/Caroline Eberhart (UCF) 8-1