Atlantic Sun Interview with Head Coach Audra Cohen
Atlantic Sun Interview with A-Sun Tournament MVP Lorena Aviles
Atlantic Sun Insider: Singles Trio Locks Up Ospreys' Third Title

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- After falling behind 4-0 in a in a decisive third set, senior Melanie Aguirre won six straight games to clinch the University of North Florida women's tennis team's second consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Tennis Championship, 4-2, over East Tennessee State on Sunday afternoon.
 
“This was a total team effort,” Head Coach Audra Cohen said. “We knew we had a chance to beat them if we stepped up on every court and showed a lot of energy from start to finish.”
 
The Ospreys began the day the way they wanted to, capturing the doubles point with a pair of hard-fought victories at the top two positions. Senior Lorena Aviles paired with Aguirre started the action with an 8-4 win at No. 1 over Lyn Yee Choo and Anna Gerbasi, the 63rd-ranked pair in the country.
 
Junior Simona Weymar and sophomore Rebeca Pereira then clinched the match on No. 2 with an 8-6 comeback win. After falling behind 6-4 in the match, the duo won four straight games to clinch the doubles point and put UNF up 1-0.
 
The Ospreys fell behind early in singles play, as ETSU won the first set in four of the six contests before getting quick wins at No. 4 and No. 6 to take the lead, 2-1. However, UNF battled back as the day wore on.
 
 Aviles, the A-Sun Player of the Year for 2013, stopped the bleeding for UNF as she rolled to a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 the knotted the match at 2-2. Weymar then followed with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 win at No. 2 that put the Ospreys back on top, 3-2. Weymar's victory over Lyn Yee Choo, the 2013 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, snapped Choo's 16-match singles winning streak.
 
Although the Bucs had taken the first set in both the remaining matches, both Marina Cunningham (No. 3) and Aguirre (No. 5) were able to fight back to win the second set, forcing a pair of three-set matches that would decide the championship.
 
While Cunningham was able to break ETSU's serve twice early in the set to go up 3-0, Aguirre lost four straight games and trailed 4-0 in her third set. However, Aguirre held her serve in the fifth game to break the streak and kick-start her own run of wins.
 
In the span of just 29 minutes, the senior reeled off six consecutive games to earn a come-from-behind 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4 win and clinch the deciding fourth point for UNF, giving the Ospreys their second Atlantic Sun Championship in as many years. It was Aguirre's seventh-straight win, the longest streak on the team, and raised her dual match record this season to 15-5.
 
“We were inspired today by the poised wins from our more experienced players at the top of our lineup,” Cohen said. “It came down to one of our feistiest sophomores holding her lead in the third set so that one of our seniors could come back and clinch it for us. This was a great match between two very competitive programs and we were thrilled to come out on top and keep the trophy at UNF for another year.”
 
Aguirre, Weymar and Aviles, who was named Tournament MVP, were all selected to the All-Tournament Team following the match. ETSU, who defeated the Ospreys 4-0 in the regular season and entered the weekend as the tournament's top seed, placed a pair of players on the All-Tournament Team.
 
The win not only gives the Ospreys their second consecutive A-Sun Championship, but earns them the conference's auto-bid to the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament for the second time in as many years. UNF will find out it's opponent, as well as the location and time of its first-round matchup, on Tuesday, April 30 at 5:30 p.m. on the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Selection Show. The show will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
 
Complete Results
 
(2) North Florida 4, (1) ETSU 2
 
Singles competition
1. Lorena Aviles (UNF) def. Antonia Kolovou (ETSU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Simona Weymar (UNF) def. Lyn Yee Choo (ETSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
3. Giulia Andreazza (ETSU) vs. Marina Cunningham (UNF) 6-4, 3-6, 1-3, unfinished
4. Anna Gerbasi (ETSU) def. Taylor Hollander (UNF) 6-2, 6-1
5. Melanie Aguirre (UNF) def. Sofia Espana (ETSU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4
6. Salma Dahbi (ETSU) def. Mariella Calderon (UNF) 7-5, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Lorena Aviles/Melanie Aguirre (UNF) def. Lyn Yee Choo/Anna Gerbasi (ETSU) 8-4
2. Simona Weymar/Rebeca Pereira (UNF) def. Salma Dahbi/Antonia Kolovou (ETSU) 8-6
3. Sofia Espana/Giulia Andreazza (ETSU) vs. Marina Cunningham/Taylor Hollander (UNF) 6-5, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
(2) North Florida 16-4, 7-1 A-Sun
(1) ETSU 14-6, 8-0 A-Sun
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,6,1,2,5)
2013 Atlantic Sun Women's Tennis Championship
Finals
Official: Walt Williams  T-4:15  A-218